


The Hazards of Love 2

by backslashdelta



Series: The Hazards of Love [3]
Category: Glee
Genre: Angst, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Homophobic Language, Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, Infidelity, Klaine Breakup, M/M, NYADA!Blaine, No rape but there is some non-con, Not Blaine or Klaine Friendly, Physical Abuse, Smut, There's just some shitty relationship dynamics going on here folks, Underage Drinking, Very minor Seblaine, but nothing too graphic, emotional abuse?, hence the warning, high school!kurt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-03
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:55:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 22
Words: 39,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26784022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/backslashdelta/pseuds/backslashdelta
Summary: Sequel to The Hazards of Love 1. Blaine moves to New York to attend NYADA, while Kurt is left in Lima to finish out his senior year. But long distance is hard, and sometimes your boyfriend isn't as kind and understanding as he once seemed.
Relationships: Blaine Anderson/Kurt Hummel, Kurt Hummel/Chandler Kiehl
Series: The Hazards of Love [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1873168
Comments: 144
Kudos: 41





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello reader, and welcome to my fic! This is a sequel to The Hazards of Love 1, so if you haven't read that yet, you should probably read it for context. Though if you really don't want to (maybe you hate Klaine and it's too Klaine-heavy for you?) it's probably not absolutely necessary. We left off with Kurt and Blaine parting ways at the airport, Blaine on his way to New York to attend NYADA. I hope you enjoy, and thanks for taking the time to read my work!
> 
> This work has been completed, and I will be posting new chapters as I edit. I may add to the tags as I post, in case I realize I forgot a relevant tag. Also please let me know if you think there's something that should be tagged that I missed!

It's been a couple weeks now since Blaine left for New York.

Kurt started back at McKinley. Karofsky graduated last year, so he doesn't have _that_ particular issue anymore, and this is where his friends are. Sure, he has friends at Dalton, but they're not his friends in the same way that Mercedes, Rachel, and Tina are. Dalton was what he needed while he was there, but now he needs McKinley.

He misses Blaine like crazy. He's been trying hard not to let it get to him, but there's only so much he can do. Blaine is busy getting his life organized in the big city; setting up the apartment with Wes, going to class at NYADA, trying to find a job just in case his parents decide they aren't willing to pay for his schooling anymore. Kurt gets it, he really does, but sometimes he just feels a little... forgotten. Like it's not that Blaine _can't_ make time for him, it's that Blaine _doesn't want to_ , and that hurts. He's tried to push the feelings aside and not let them affect him too much; surely when Blaine is settled into a routine, it won't feel like this. But apparently he hasn't been doing a great job, because the girls have decided he needs an intervention and now he's sitting at a table in Breadstix with Mercedes, Rachel, and Tina.

"Alright boy, spill," Mercedes says after the waitress takes their orders and walks away.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Mercedes," Kurt sighs, "there's nothing to _spill_."

"You've been off since summer ended, Kurt. Something is going on. Finn wore _socks and sandals_ to Glee practice on Tuesday and you just _let him_ ," Tina counters.

"Did you and Blaine break up?" Rachel asks, "Because if you broke up and didn't tell me, I would be very upset."

" _What_? No! Blaine and I did _not_ break up," Kurt says, bewildered. "Don't you think I would have said something if we did?"

"Then what's going on?" Mercedes asks again, ignoring his question.

Kurt sighs again. "Nothing, I guess, it's just... long distance is hard. He's busy. I miss him. He never has time to talk, and I get it, but I just... I have to get used to it is all," he explains with a shrug.

"Have you talked to him about it?" Tina asks.

"No, it's not a big deal, really. Once he's settled it will be fine."

"But what if it's not?" Rachel asks.

"I don't want to be some needy high school boyfriend," Kurt snaps, a little more harshly than intended.

" _Rachel_ ," Mercedes scolds, then directs her attention back at him. "Kurt, it's clearly bothering you. Maybe you should say something to him."

"What am I supposed to say? _Hi Blaine, I know you're really busy starting your new life in New York, but you need to pay more attention to me_? That will really convince him that staying with his long distance high school boyfriend was a good idea," Kurt argues, rolling his eyes.

"I don't think he expects everything to be perfect with this long distance thing, Kurt, especially not at first" Tina says gently, "I'm sure he'll understand if you're having problems with it and want to talk."

"I'm not having problems with it, I just miss him. We're fine. He has enough to deal with right now without me whining about something that neither of us can do anything about."

"We just think that if we notice something is off, then he'll probably notice, too," Rachel points out.

"Ladies, I appreciate your concern, but Blaine and I are fine. Really," Kurt insists.

"Just don't forget that you can talk to him, Kurt," Mercedes says, shooting him a look.

"I'll keep it in mind."

* * *

Kurt settles onto his bed, laid out on his stomach with his laptop set up in front of him, and presses the call button. He waits a couple rings before Blaine's smiling face fills the screen.

"Hey, love," the cheery voice greets him.

"Hey, Bee." Kurt offers a small smile of his own in return. "How was your day?"

"It was really good," Blaine answers with a grin. "It was a short day today which was great, so then I grabbed lunch with Wes and Sebastian at this really great little Indian place that we found, and I heard back from that place I applied! You know the diner? They offered me a job!"

"That's really great, Blaine. Congratulations," Kurt says, and he knows his tone is a little off but he hopes Blaine doesn't notice.

Kurt is happy for Blaine, he really is. He loves that his boyfriend is enjoying life in the big city. He's a little jealous of Sebastian, especially since finding out Sebastian also happens to be gay, but he keeps reminding himself that this is the only new friend Blaine has really made, and of _course_ Blaine is going to make new friends and spend time with them, and Sebastian being gay doesn't actually _mean_ anything.

"Yeah, I'm really excited about it. It's mostly waiting tables, but I'll get to sing, and there's a piano up front, too, so I'm hoping they let me play it sometimes."

"That would be great, Bee."

"And then I have this assignment due at the end of the week, it's just a duet thing where we pick a song with our partner and have to perform it together, but it's the first real _assignment_ that we've gotten. Seb and I are going to do something together, I'm not sure what, we're meeting up after later to figure it out."

Kurt forces a smile. He should be happy about this. _Blaine_ is happy about this. But Kurt just can't help but think about all of the songs that he _can't_ sing with Blaine, and now _Sebastian_ gets to sing with Blaine, and it's just not fair.

"Is everything okay, Kurt?" Blaine asks, pulling Kurt out of his thoughts.

"What? Yeah, I'm fine. That's great," Kurt says a little too quickly.

"Kurt."

"What?"

"I know you. Something's wrong," Blaine says, giving him a knowing look.

"Nothing's wrong, Blaine. Everything's fine," Kurt argues.

Blaine sighs. "We need to be honest with each other if we're going to make this work, love. I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong. Talk to me, _please_."

Kurt stares back at Blaine for a few moments. He doesn't want to be the needy, clingy boyfriend, but Blaine is right; if they can't talk to each other, this isn't going to work. And he _really_ wants this to work.

"I just... I miss you."

"And I miss you," Blaine responds carefully, but he's clearly waiting for Kurt to continue.

Kurt sighs. "I'm so happy for you Blaine, I swear I am, but I hear you talk about how great everything in New York is, school and your new friends, Sebastian, and it just... it feels like it would be so easy for you to forget about me," he finishes quietly, breaking eye contact with Blaine and looking down at the bed as though it's suddenly fascinating.

"Kurt," Blaine says gently, "look at me."

Kurt brings his eyes back up slowly and looks at Blaine again.

"I could never forget about you, Kurt. I _love_ you, so much. And I miss you every single day. New York is great, and I love it here, but every day I just think about how much _better_ it would be with you here, and I can't wait until next year when we're both here together."

"Really?" Kurt asks, a hint of a smile on his face.

"Of course, love," Blaine says with a warm smile.

"So you're not going to find a new boyfriend up there?" Kurt asks, and there's a bit of a teasing tone in his voice but he also sort of just wants to hear Blaine say it.

Blaine chuckles. "No, of course not. I already have the most amazing boyfriend I could ever ask for, why would I need a new one?"

Kurt smiles at that, really smiles back at Blaine. "You know, I guess you're right. Your boyfriend is pretty great."

"He really is," Blaine replies with a warm smile.

They chat a while longer, Kurt catching Blaine up on the happenings at McKinley, before Blaine needs to leave.

"Look, Kurt, I told Seb I'd meet him soon, so I have to head out now if I don't want to be late."

"Oh, yeah, of course."

"I'll talk to you later. Love you."

"Love you, too, Bee."

And then Blaine's face is gone, and Kurt is sitting on his bed alone again. And he should probably be feeling a little better now, but it's sort of difficult when his boyfriend just left him to go meet another guy.


	2. Chapter 2

Kurt is sitting at a table in the Lima Bean, head buried in his laptop working on an English paper when he's startled by an excited voice.

"Excuse me, I'm sorry, but I just _had_ to come over here and let you know that that hippopotamus brooch is _amazing_."

Kurt looks up to see a slim boy who looks to be about his age, with blonde hair and glasses smiling widely at him.

"Oh, thanks," he replies, a little taken aback; if strangers are going to make a comment about his fashion choices, it's not usually _positive_ feedback.

"Actually, that whole outfit is _fantastic_. You must get compliments all the time," the boy adds.

Kurt laughs a little. "No, actually, I don't," he says, but can't help but smile back; this boy's enthusiasm is kind of infectious.

"Well, everybody else must just be too intimidated, then," the boy says with a grin, then pulls out the chair across from Kurt, "do you mind if I sit with you?"

"No, go ahead," Kurt says, gesturing to the chair.

"Thanks," the boy replies, taking a seat then extending his hand over the table toward Kurt, "Chandler Kiehl."

"Kurt Hummel," Kurt says, reaching out and shaking the boy's hand.

"What are you working on there, Kurt Hummel?" Chandler asks.

"Oh, just an English paper," Kurt says offhandedly, closing his laptop, "but it's just about finished. What brings you to the Lima Bean?"

"Well I just stopped in to pick up a coffee on my way to the library to work on a history paper, it's going to be about the cultural impact of musical theatre in the past century which is a really exciting topic and I'm just _dying_ to research it, but then I got distracted by this really attractive guy and I just _had_ to come over and talk to him."

Kurt tries to fight the blush. Chandler is just being so _forward_ , and it would creep him out a little if the other boy didn't seem so genuine and sincere; it reminded him of Blaine just a little, cheerful and upbeat. But Kurt doesn't _flirt_ with people, he isn't flirted with, doesn't really know what to do in this situation, and he has a _boyfriend_ for god's sake, so he just brushes off the comment and focuses on the paper Chandler is meant to be writing, which really _does_ sound pretty interesting.

"That's a really interesting topic! Was it assigned?"

"No, of course not," Chandler says with a laugh, "no way any teacher at North Lima High would give that out as a topic. We got to choose our own topic and it was approved, with some reluctance which I don't understand at all but approved none the less so I'm not going to complain!"

"I know what you mean," Kurt agrees with a sad smile, "I go to William McKinley and no teacher there would assign that either, sadly. Except maybe our Glee coach."

"Oh you're in the Glee club?" Chandler asks excitedly, bouncing a little in his seat. "The New Directions, right?"

Kurt nods, surprised. He didn't realize anybody outside of, well, the Glee club, cared about the Glee club. Especially nobody outside of their school.

"That's so great! I tried to start a Glee club at my school, but there wasn't enough interest to keep it going, sadly. I am _so_ jealous!"

"We almost didn't make it either, somehow our coach convinced some of the football team and the cheerleaders to join, so we just have enough for competitions now."

"You have football players and cheerleaders in your Glee club? _Wow_! That's amazing! I'm lucky if I go a day without a football player throwing me in a dumpster at my school," Chandler says wistfully, but the boy is somehow _still smiling_ and Kurt just can't help but still be smiling back.

"Well, that still happens," Kurt replies with a chuckle.

"That's too bad. But it's so amazing that you have a Glee club! Maybe I should try to get our Glee club up and running again. Even just so I can have it to put on my college applications. I'm planning on applying to as many musical theatre programs as I can, and every little bit will help. Are you planning on doing musical theatre in college as well?"

"That's my plan. I've looked at NYADA in New York, but I haven't really looked into any other programs," Kurt admits.

"Oh, I would absolutely _die_ to go to NYADA," Chandler gushes, "or NYU, or California-Irvine, or- well, there's just too many to list! I'm sure you could get into NYADA though, you sound like you must have an absolutely angelic voice."

Kurt feels the light blush colour his cheeks again. "Well, we'll see."

Chandler glances down at his watch. "Well, I really should be going now, I hate to say it, but could I get your number and maybe we can meet up for a proper coffee sometime?"

"I'm um- I would love to but I uh... I have a boyfriend," Kurt says, blushing furiously now and offering what he hopes is an apologetic smile.

"Of course, the cute ones always do," Chandler says wistfully, "but we could still meet up for a coffee sometime, just as friends, of course. I'd love to get to know you and be your friend. No pressure, not a date, just a hangout as friends, I promise."

Chandler is _still smiling_ and how does he _do_ that?

"I... Yeah, okay," Kurt agrees with a tentative smile.

"Okay, great!" Chandler says excitedly, sliding his phone across the table for Kurt to fill in his contact details. "I'll send you a text so you have my number too, and we can meet up sometime and maybe brainstorm some audition song ideas and it will be _so fun_."

"Yeah, sure. That sounds fun," Kurt agrees, sliding the phone back to Chandler after adding his number.

"Well Kurt Hummel, it was a pleasure to meet you, and I look forward to seeing you again soon," Chandler says as he stands, and extends his hand out to Kurt for another handshake.

"It was nice meeting you as well," Kurt replies, shaking the extended hand.

"I'll see you around soon!" Chandler says cheerily, and then he's disappearing out the door, and Kurt is left sitting there alone with a lingering warmth in his cheeks and a dumb smile on his face.

* * *

True to his word, Chandler texted Kurt less than an hour after he left the Lima Bean that day, and they've been texting every day since. Chandler is full of compliments and praise for Kurt, and it had made him a little uncomfortable at first, but he quickly realized that this isn't Chandler flirting, this is just how Chandler _is_ , and besides, the attention and confidence boost is kind of nice, so he's not complaining.

He's smiling down at his phone, reading the most recent text from Chandler about how uniquely beautiful his voice is, when Mercedes' voice interrupts his thoughts.

"I see you have everything all sorted out with Blaine then," she says with a smirk.

He puts his phone down on the table and looks at her. "What do you mean?"

"You've done nothing but smile down at that phone all week," she explains "clearly whatever was going on between you is smoothed over now."

"Oh, no, it's- that wasn't Blaine," Kurt says.

Mercedes rolls her eyes at him. "Yeah right, Kurt. I know that look."

"Really, it's not."

"Then who is it?"

"Uh, Chandler."

She narrows her eyes at him. "Who's Chandler?"

"This guy I met at the Lima Bean," Kurt explains. "He goes to North Lima, and he's planning to apply to some musical theatre programs, so we've been talking a lot about music."

"Is he gay?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Kurt asks defensively.

"Is he?"

"Yes, so what?"

"Kurt."

" _What_?"

"What about Blaine?" she asks.

"What _about_ Blaine?" Kurt counters.

"Does he know about this Chandler guy that you're texting all the time?"

"No, but it's not like it's a secret," Kurt says.

"If it's not a secret then why haven't you told him?"

"Because there's nothing to _tell_. I don't tell him every time I talk to you or Rachel or Tina."

" _Kurt_. You haven't stopped smiling at your phone for the past week. I know what that means, I'm not stupid."

"Just because he's gay doesn't mean anything is going on, 'Cedes," he huffs, rolling his eyes, "we're just _friends_."

"Yeah, well that's what you said last time too, wasn't it?" she counters.

"You're being ridiculous."

"You're being purposefully obtuse."

"I'm not- I can have _gay friends_ , Mercedes!"

"He's not _just_ a _friend_ if you're smiling like an idiot every time he texts you!"

"This is absurd. Chandler is just my friend, there is _nothing else_ going on."

Mercedes reaches across the table and grabs his phone before he can stop her.

"Your voice sounds like if a siren and an angel had a baby. _If you were a fruit, you'd be a fine-apple_ ," she reads as she scrolls through the texts, "Kurt, _seriously_? What are you doing?"

Kurt snatches his phone out of her hand and slides it into his pocket. "I'm not _doing_ anything, we're just talking. So he's nice to me, shouldn't friends be nice to you?"

"Kurt, this boy is _flirting_ with you."

"He knows I have a boyfriend, Mercedes, this is just what he's like."

"And I'm sure you don't mind that one bit," she scoffs.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he says, narrowing his eyes at her.

"You can't go out and find some other boy to make you feel good just because your boyfriend is busy, Kurt."

"That isn't- I'm not! Chandler is a _friend_. I'm allowed to have _friends_ ," he argues, exasperated.

"Then why doesn't Blaine know about it?"

"I'm not- this is- _fine_ , okay? I will tell Blaine that I have a new friend, will that make you happy?"

"Very," Mercedes replies with a smug grin.

"You are _impossible_ ," he huffs, crossing his arms across his chest and leaning back in his chair.


	3. Chapter 3

"How was your day, love?" Blaine asks, smiling at Kurt through the computer screen.

"It was alright," Kurt shrugs.

"Just alright?" Blaine questions.

"I kind of got in a fight with Mercedes."

"Really? About what?"

Kurt picks at a loose thread on the blanket draped over his legs. "It's stupid. It was just about this new friend I made last week."

"Oh," Blaine says, a confused look on his face, "why would you and Mercedes fight about that? Is she... jealous? Is it some new girl in the Glee club?"

"No, it um... it's a guy I met at the Lima Bean. We've been texting, but she seems to think that just because he's gay he's flirting with me, which is ridiculous," Kurt explains with an eye roll.

"Oh," Blaine says again, then he's silent for a moment. "Well, is he?"

" _No_ , of course not. He knows I have an amazing boyfriend," Kurt says, offering Blaine a small smile.

"Some guys don't care about that," Blaine points out, and he almost sounds a little... angry?

"Chandler is _not_ like that. He's really sweet."

"I'm sure he is," Blaine says, tone short.

"Seriously, Blaine, he's not. It's nice to just have a gay friend around that I can talk to, you know? The girls are great but sometimes they can be a bit much. You get that, right?"

Blaine sighs. "Yeah, I know, it's just... I used to be that for you."

" _Blaine_ ," Kurt breathes, voice soft, "you still are. Of course you are. He's just a friend, nothing else."

"I know I've been busy lately, but I just don't want you to replace me with... with some guy you met at a coffee shop."

"Blaine, I would _never_. I love you _so much_ , Bee. And he knows that. We're just friends. I _swear_."

"I guess I just... you've always only had girl friends. I'm not sure how I feel about you texting and spending all this time with some other guy."

"I was friends with all the Warblers," Kurt counters a little confused.

"Yeah, but that was different."

"How was that different? Because they were your friends first?"

"I mean... kind of?" Blaine gives a small shrug.

Kurt stares back at Blaine for a moment, a little bewildered, before he responds. "Blaine, it's not... you can't expect me not to have any guy friends."

"Of course not, but it's just... he's gay, and that makes me kind of uncomfortable."

"Sebastian is gay," Kurt points out, irritated now.

"That's different," Blaine says defensively.

"How is that different?"

"It just is," Blaine argues, "you already have friends there, I don't have friends here yet."

"Blaine, that's- you can't tell me who I can and can't be friends with."

"I'm not, I just... I don't like it. That's all."

"So if you're not telling me not to be friends with him, then what exactly do you want me to do about it?" Kurt huffs.

"I don't know, Kurt," Blaine says, exasperated. "I'll think about it."

"Okay," Kurt agrees simply, because there's not really anything else to say about it at this point.

* * *

It's a few days later when the topic of Chandler comes up again.

"I want to see your texts," Blaine says simply.

" _What_?" Kurt asks, bewildered.

"I've thought about it, and I think I would feel better if I could read the texts you're sending him. And what he's saying to you," Blaine explains it like it's obvious.

"Blaine, I... don't you think that's a bit much?"

"You wanted to know what you could do about it, and this is the only thing I can think of. Would you rather me be all the way here in New York always wondering if my boyfriend is letting some other guy flirt with him when there's nothing I can do about it?"

"No! Blaine, of course not, you know I don't. But he's _not_ flirting with me, Bee, we're _just friends_. Showing you my texts just seems a bit... excessive," Kurt says uneasily.

"Look, I'm not going to make you do it, and it's not like I'm going to read every single message. Just, if I knew you'd show me when I ask, I would... feel better about it, I think. And if you're just friends, it's not like there's anything to hide, right?"

"We _are_ just friends," Kurt insists.

"So then there's nothing to worry about."

"I guess so," Kurt agrees hesitantly.

"So... is that a yes?"

Kurt sighs. "It would really make you feel better?"

"Yeah, I think it would," Blaine nods.

"Alright then," Kurt agrees reluctantly.

"Thank you, Kurt. I love you. So much."

"I love you too, Bee," Kurt says, offering a tentative smile as he tries to shake off the unsettled feeling in the pit of his stomach.

* * *

"How's Blaine doing?" Chandler asks cheerily from the passenger seat of Kurt's car.

It's a Saturday afternoon, and the two boys are out for a drive. It's starting to become their thing; going for a nice long drive and chatting the whole time. They talk about everything from the latest music and fashion to their personal lives, and Kurt really appreciates how open he can be with Chandler; he loves the girls, but they can be a bit judgemental, and sometimes it's nice to have a guy other than Blaine to talk to.

"Oh, he's good," Kurt says, trying to brush the topic off.

It's not that he doesn't want to talk to Chandler about Blaine; in fact, he's talked about Blaine plenty, and Chandler is always happy to hear about Kurt's boyfriend. What Kurt _hasn't_ told Chandler is how Blaine feels about the other boy; and since his last conversation with Blaine was about Chandler, he doesn't really want to get into it. Clearly, Chandler isn't letting him off so easy.

"Just good?"

"Yeah, he's fine," Kurt replies, keeping his eyes focused on the road, but he catches Chandler's frown from the corner of his eye.

"Is everything okay?"

Kurt sighs. "Yeah, we just got in a fight. Kind of. Well, not even a fight, really... it's nothing."

"Oh no! What were you fighting about?" Chandler asks, voice full of concern.

Well, great. There's no way he's getting out of this now.

"He, um... it was about you, actually. It wasn't really a fight, though, seriously, it's not... he just gets... I don't know," Kurt tries to explain, but every way he can think of to say it just sounds bad, so he trails off.

Kurt chances a glance at Chandler and sees his eyes wide, a look of mild panic on his face.

"Oh no, I made you fight? What did I do? I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to do anything, I-"

"No, you didn't do anything," Kurt cuts him off. "Blaine just... he doesn't love that we're friends."

He knows that it's not really an explanation, but he also can't really _sorry, my boyfriend is possessive and jealous and doesn't like me being friends with other gay guys_.

"Why not?"

Kurt stops at a red light, and turns to look at Chandler. He's frown is even deeper, and he just looks so _concerned_ , and Kurt hates it. He sighs again, turns his eyes back to the road as the light turns green.

"It's just been hard getting used to the whole long distance thing, and I guess he's just... jealous, or something. It's not a big deal, really, I promise. We're not fighting, he's fine with it now."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Kurt says, offering a tight smile.

"Well, okay. If you say so," Chandler replies, and Kurt can hear the bit of relief in his voice as Chandler relaxes and starts prattling on about the new coat he bought the week before and how much Kurt would _love_ it.

He's grateful for the topic change. This isn't something he wants to talk about, with Chandler or anyone else, and he _definitely_ doesn't want to tell anyone that Blaine is reading his texts with Chandler. He knows people will think Blaine is being possessive and jealous and unreasonable; and maybe, to an extent, he is. But long distance is hard. It's been hard for Kurt, and he knows it's been hard for Blaine, too, so he can't really blame Blaine for needing the extra reassurance. Blaine would do the same for him, right?

* * *

Kurt wants his friends to meet Chandler.

The girls haven't said much lately, and Tina has been nothing but supportive of the friendship the whole time, but he can tell Mercedes and Rachel think there's something going on between the two boys. But there _isn't_. They just don't _know_ him. So he's finally managed to convince the girls to hang out with him and Chandler, and he just hopes that maybe they'll finally get it.

They're at the mall. It was a good, neutral place to hang out. They could have some lunch, do some shopping, laugh at all the awful pieces of clothing they found as they browsed through the stores. And, well, if it gave Chandler extra opportunities to compliment his friends so they could see _that's_ _just what he's like_ , well, that's an added bonus.

"Oh my _god_ , that dress looks stunning on you, you absolutely _have_ to get it," Chandler exclaims as Mercedes comes out of her dressing room in a knee-length floral print dress.

"I do really like it," she agrees, twirling for the boys.

"Rachel!" Chandler all but squeals as Rachel emerges from the next door, "You look absolutely _radiant_ in that dress."

"Red has always been my colour," she says knowingly, smoothing a hand down the fabric over her stomach, "the colour of passion."

Tina steps out of the third dressing room next in a simple but fitted blue dress.

"Wow," Chandler says, clutching a hand to his chest, "dazzling. That dress looks like it was _made_ for you."

"Thank you," she says, beaming at the boys before she turns back to look at herself in the mirror, "I can't believe you've been keeping him from us this whole time, Kurt! I need to take him with me every time I go shopping.

"Just be careful," Kurt warns teasingly, "he's great for your ego, but I don't think there's anything he _wouldn't_ compliment."

"Everybody is just so beautiful! I can't help it!" Chandler pouts.

"I like him," Rachel decides. "Maybe he should be my new best gay, then I won't have to listen to you insult every piece of clothing I own."

Kurt rolls his eyes. "Oh please, Rachel. It's not _every_ piece of clothing you own. Just the ones you purchased when I wasn't around. If you didn't have me, you'd still be wearing animal sweaters to school every day."

"Oh, animal sweaters sound so fun!" Chandler pipes up with an exited smile, and Kurt just rolls his eyes again.

"Well I don't know about all y'all, but I'm ready for some lunch," Mercedes says.

"Good idea," Tina agrees, and the girls retreat back into their dressing rooms to change out of the dresses.

After the girls change and buy their dresses, under Chandler's insistence, the group of five settle around a table in the food court happily enjoying their lunches.

"I just think that _Don't Rain on My Parade_ went over so well last time, it makes sense to do another _Funny Girl_ number at the next competition," Rachel explains.

"You just want the solo," Mercedes argues, rolling her eyes.

"It is a classic Broadway musical, with wonderful music, and I really think that a _Funny Girl_ number would be a good idea. And I always have a solo anyway, we all know that it's best that way, so that's really not a factor," Rachel huffs.

"Wow, you must be really good if you have a solo at every competition," Chandler says to Rachel, eyes wide.

Rachel preens a bit at the praise. "Thank you, I am."

Mercedes tolls her eyes again. "Do _not_ encourage her."

"Rachel's head is already big enough, you don't need to boost her ego," Kurt says to Chandler.

"Don't listen to them," Rachel argues, "it's always wonderful to talk to someone who clearly appreciates talent."

"I'm gonna puke," Mercedes says.

"Let's change the topic," Tina jumps in, "Chandler, you're a senior right? Where are you thinking of applying for college?"

"Yes! I am! There are just so many great schools, it's hard to choose where to apply. I've been looking all over the place. I know Kurt really wants to apply to NYADA, and I'm definitely going to apply there too, but there's also-"

"NYADA is by far the best musical theatre program in the country, possibly the world," Rachel says, cutting him off, "that's where I'm going."

"Yes Rachel, we know, you're so talented, blah blah blah, I think he gets it," Mercedes says.

"Actually I think it's really interesting! I'd love to hear everything you know about the program at NYADA," Chandler jumps back in, completely unfazed by Rachel's interruption.

"No, I am officially vetoing this conversation," Mercedes jumps in again, before Rachel can start talking. "Tina, do you have everything planned for your trip to see Mike?"

"Just about," Tina rolls her eyes fondly, "he's lived in the city for two months now, you'd think he'd know the best places to go, but it's like pulling teeth trying to get ideas out of him! I'm ready to just give up at this point, I guess it would be nice to just spend some time in at his apartment anyway, so maybe we'll do that for the rest."

Tina continues talking about her plans with Mike for Thanksgiving, and Kurt mostly just sits back and listens, watching his friends chatter on. Chandler is fitting in really well; he's enthusiastic and asking questions and telling Tina how much fun her trip sounds, and Kurt is really just glad that his friends like the other boy.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is entirely smut. If that's not your thing, you can easily skip it; it's not really plot relevant aside from seeing the boys happy and together and loving each other. If it is your thing, well... enjoy!

Burt and Carole are out on a date night, Finn is at Puck's for the night, and Kurt couldn't be happier.

It's the Thanksgiving long weekend, and Blaine arrived in Lima two hours ago. Kurt picked him up at the airport and brought him back to the house. His dad and step-mom said a quick hello and gave Blaine a hug on their way out the door, Blaine dropped his bags in his bedroom, and then the boys proceeded to Kurt's room where Blaine is currently on his knees in front of Kurt, whose back is pressed against his closed door. Kurt's pants and underwear are around his ankles, but otherwise both boys are fully clothed.

"I've missed you," Blaine says, sucking a bruise into Kurt's hip. "I've missed this," he adds, running his tongue along the vein on the underside of Kurt's straining cock, and a shiver runs through Kurt's body.

Blaine smirks, looking up at him through thick lashes. "You like that?"

Kurt huffs out a soft, breathless laugh. "Yeah. You couldn't tell?"

Blaine chuckles darkly. "Oh, I had a feeling," he says, still smirking as he takes a hand and wraps it around Kurt's hard cock, stroking slowly, and Kurt lets out a deep moan.

"Blaine, fuck," he pants.

"What is it, love?"

" _Please_ ," he asks, a breathy whine.

"Please _what_ , darling? You're going to have to be more specific than that." Another smirk.

" _Blaine_ ," Kurt pleads.

Blaine rolls his eyes playfully, but brings his lips to the tip of Kurt's cock and swirls his tongue around the head, drawing a gasp from Kurt. "Was this what you wanted, love?"

"Yes, please, Blaine, _please_."

Blaine doesn't respond, just opens his mouth wider and swallows Kurt inside as far as he can take it. Kurt gasps, threads his fingers through Blaine's gelled curls, and it's all he can do to stop himself from thrusting forward into the warm heat of Blaine's mouth. He moans as Blaine bobs up and down on his knees in front of Kurt, and it's not long before Kurt feels the pressure building in his balls.

"Blaine, stop, I," he gasps, breathless, tugging loosely at Blaine's curls that aren't so gelled down anymore.

Blaine releases Kurt from his mouth with a loud pop, and looks up at him expectantly through thick eyelashes.

"I was gonna... I didn't want to come yet," Kurt says, calming his breathing as he feels himself come back from the edge of release.

Blaine smirks up at him. "Bed?"

"Yeah, bed," Kurt nods, smiling, and grabs Blaine's hand to pull him up and over to the bed.

Kurt leads Blaine over to the bed, then pushes him backward onto it and climbs on top of him. "I think you are wearing," he starts, cutting himself off briefly to plant a quick, deep kiss on Blaine's lips, "entirely too many clothes," he finishes as he starts to unbutton Blaine's shirt.

Blaine hums his agreement, head falling back against the pillows as Kurt sucks at the skin over his collarbone and continues unbuttoning the shirt, exposing Blaine's chest and stomach.

Kurt runs a hand over Blaine's chest, playing with the dark hairs covering it, occasionally passing over a nipple and making Blaine squirm under him. He works his way up Blaine's neck to his ear, kissing and sucking along the way, Blaine letting out small, breathless moans as he works his tongue over the skin.

"I missed this, too, by the way," Kurt whispers, rolling a pebbled nipple between his fingers and Blaine arches into the touch with a gasp.

"You need- shirt, off," Blaine stutters breathlessly.

Kurt smirks, then sits up, straddling Blaine's hips as he slowly begins unbuttoning his shirt. He feels Blaine's hard cock under him through Blaine's pants, watches Blaine's eyes roam over him as he opens the buttons one at a time. He pops the last button open then grids down into Blaine, eliciting a deep moan from the boy beneath him.

"I just... f _uck_ , Kurt," Blaine gasps, then pulls Kurt back down on top of him and brings their lips together in a searing kiss.

Kurt threads his fingers through Blaine's hair, deepening the kiss as he feels Blaine's tongue sliding along his lower lip. Their tongues swirl together, and Blaine's hands slide down Kurt's sides, to his hips, then Blaine is reaching behind and gripping Kurt's ass. He slides a hand between Kurt's ass cheeks, fingering over the puckered hole, and Kurt thrusts forward at the touch, moaning into Blaine's lips.

Kurt pulls back from the kiss, cheeks flushed, breathing heaving. "Need you. Now."

Blaine nods, reaches into the drawer of the bedside table as Kurt crawls off him and pulls out a condom and a bottle of lube. Kurt settles on the bed on his stomach. Blaine plants a trail of gentle kisses down Kurt's back, and Kurt sighs pleasantly. When Blaine reaches the base of Kurt's spine, he grips Kurt's ass, pulling the cheeks apart and licking softly between them, inching closer to Kurt's hole with each lick and sending shivers through his body. Blaine laps over the puckered hole, finally, and Kurt gasps at the sensation, instinctively pushing back into the feeling, but then Blaine pulls back and Kurt lets out a low whine.

Blaine chuckles. "It's okay, love. You'll get what you want," he says, and Kurt can hear the smirk in his voice.

He hears the cap on the lube click open, and a few moments later Blaine is spreading him open again and he feels a cool, wet finger slowly breaching his entrance. Blaine pushes deeper and Kurt tries to relax his muscles, getting used to the feeling. Blaine pumps his finger in and out, slowly at first, then faster as Kurt is stretched open. It's been so long since they've done this, so long since they've had the chance to do this, and Kurt hadn't even really realized how much he missed it.

"Another," Kurt says, voice wrecked and desperate.

Blaine doesn't respond, just adds some more lube and places a gentle kiss on Kurt's ass as he slides a second finger in. Kurt gasps at the feeling, tensing a little at the extra stretch. It's been so long.

"Shhh, it's okay love," Blaine soothes, planting another kiss, this time on Kurt's hip.

Blaine slowly slides his fingers in, then back out just as slowly, back and forth, and Kurt starts to relax again into the touch. Blaine starts twisting his fingers inside Kurt, feeling for that sweet spot inside of him. It takes a minute, but then Blaine crooks his fingers in just the right way and a wave of pleasure courses through Kurt's body as he lets out a high moan.

"Found it," Blaine mumbles into the skin of Kurt's lower back, then plants another kiss there as he presses his fingers into the spot again and Kurt thrusts backward into the touch.

Blaine starts scissoring his fingers then, stretching Kurt wider, brushing over Kurt's prostate every so often and drawing a moan from the other boy.

"Blaine, please," Kurt begs.

"You ready for another?" Blaine asks, pressing against Kurt's prostate again.

Kurt gasps. " _Yes_ ," he says, his voice tinged with annoyance, and Blaine laughs.

"Impatient, are we?" Blaine teases, but he obliges, adding more lube and slowly sliding a third finger inside of Kurt.

Kurt adapts to the stretch more quickly this time, and it's not long before Blaine is thrusting his fingers in and out of Kurt, brushing over Kurt's prostate every few thrusts and driving him crazy.

"Blaine, I- now, please," Kurt gasps out.

"Now what?" Blaine asks, feigning innocence, as he continues pumping his fingers inside Kurt.

"Fuck me, _now_ ," Kurt says, desperate and needy, voice high.

"Okay love," Blaine agrees, sliding his fingers out of Kurt.

Blaine stands, and Kurt sits up and watches as Blaine unbuckles his belt then pushes his pants and boxers to the floor, stepping out of them.

"Lay down. I wanna...," Kurt says, trailing off, but Blaine gets the idea and lays on his back in the center of the bed.

Kurt takes Blaine's cock in his hand, stroking a few times and drawing a soft moan from Blaine, before he tears open the condom and rolls it onto Blaine's hard cock. He pops open the lube and squeezes some into his hand, stroking Blaine and coating the condom in lube. Then he straddles Blaine, hand behind him lining up Blaine's head with his eager, stretched hole before lowering himself down onto the thick shaft. He sinks down slowly, feeling the head of Blaine's cock enter him, then pushing farther inside, stretching and filling him. It's just a little uncomfortable, it always is at first, but it just feels so damn good he can't bring himself to care. He sinks down all the way, until Blaine is fully sheathed inside him, then pauses for a moment to adjust to the feeling.

"Fuck," Blaine breathes, and Kurt watches as Blaine's eyes roam across his body. "I love you like this."

A breathless chuckle escapes Kurt's lips. "I love me like this, too."

Blaine smirks at him, then gently rolls his hips up into Kurt, drawing moans from each of them. Kurt raises his hips up, feels Blaine sliding out of him slowly, then sinks back down and Blaine lets out a low groan. He repeats the motion, slowly at first, but soon picking up speed, feeling the burn in his thighs as he raises and lowers himself over Blaine, pumping his boyfriends cock in and out of his ass, breathing heavy and moaning each time he feels the head dragging against his prostate. Eventually Blaine's had enough, decides to take things into his own hands, and he reaches up and pulls Kurt down on top of him, sealing their lips together in a hot, wet kiss and thrusting up into Kurt. Kurt gasps into the kiss as Blaine continues rolling his hips up to meet Kurt, setting a rapid pace as he thrusts into Kurt's tight hole. Then, suddenly, Kurt is flipped onto his back, Blaine hovering above him, pounding him into the mattress. Blaine rests his forehead against Kurt's, breathing heavy as he thrusts inside Kurt, and somehow he manages to hit Kurt's prostate _every single thrust_ , and then Blaine's hand is wrapped around his cock, stroking, and it's just _too much_ , it's overwhelming, and he lets himself get lost in the sensation of Blaine around him and inside him and just _everywhere_.

" _Blaine_ , I'm-" he starts, but then cuts himself off with a moan and it's too late for a warning as he's coming, ropes of warm, white liquid shooting across both boys' stomachs and chests.

"Kurt, _fuck_ ," Blaine gasps, foreheads still pressed together.

Blaine thrusts several more times, just to the point where Kurt is starting to feel oversensitive, and then he's coming, too, hips stuttering as he thrusts into Kurt a final time and groans loudly, then collapses down on top of Kurt as they both try to catch their breath.

"That was... _god_ , Blaine," Kurt gasps as his breathing starts to even out.

"Yeah," Blaine agrees simply, eyes closed as he nuzzles into Kurt's neck.

Kurt strokes Blaine's hair, plants a kiss on top of his head. The gel has long since lost its hold, and Kurt plays with Blaine's dark curls as Blaine hums contentedly on top of him.

"Not to disturb you, Bee, but we should probably move and... maybe shower," Kurt murmurs into Blaine's hair.

Blaine chuckles lightly into Kurt's neck. "We did make a bit of a mess, didn't we?"

"A bit," Kurt agrees, planting another kiss on Blaine's head.

Blaine rolls off Kurt, and Kurt sucks in a breath as Blaine slides out of him. Blaine plants a quick kiss on Kurt's cheek before he stands up and walks over to the trash can to throw out the condom. He turns to look back at Kurt.

"Think I'll go have that shower now. Care to join me?" Blaine asks with a smirk.

Kurt doesn't respond, just nods and stands up, grabbing the offered hand and letting Blaine pull him into the bathroom.


	5. Chapter 5

They can't get away with showering together every time, of course. Maybe they could with just Finn in the house, because he spends most of his time playing video games in his room and trying not to think about his step brother possibly having sex with another boy just down the hall. When Burt and Carole are home though, there's no way, even after Burt told them the "open door" policy doesn't apply anymore, which Kurt is still shocked by but certainly isn't complaining about. But right now his dad and step mom _are_ home, so he left Blaine in his bedroom while he for his morning shower.

Kurt walks back into his room, wrapped in a warm bathrobe, smiling at Blaine sitting cross-legged on his bed and walking over to his closet to choose some clothes for the day.

"What is this?" Blaine asks from the bed, and he sounds less than thrilled.

Kurt turns and looks at Blaine, frowning, confused. "What is what?"

"These messages," Blaine says, holding up Kurt's phone.

Kurt stiffens. There's nothing on his phone for Blaine to be upset about, but he still doesn't like the idea of Blaine reading through all his messages. There's things in there that aren't meant for Blaine; conversations with the girls, secrets they've told him that have nothing to do with Blaine, but that Blaine still has no business knowing. But this isn't about that; there's no doubt in his mind that this is about Chandler Kiehl.

"You're going through my phone?" he asks, voice a touch higher than usual.

"That's not an answer," Blaine says simply, standing.

Kurt walks toward Blaine, tries to snatch the phone from his hand, but Blaine holds it out of Kurt's reach.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Blaine," he says coolly.

"I think you know exactly what I'm talking about," Blaine shoots back.

"No, I don't," Kurt argues, "now give me back my phone."

"Answer my question."

"You're being ridiculous!" Kurt says, exasperated, because this _is_ ridiculous, "What is your _problem_?"

"My problem?" Blaine barks out a humourless laugh. "My _problem_ is that my _boyfriend_ is letting some guy who isn't me flirt with him and doesn't think _that's_ a problem."

Kurt rolls his eyes. "He's not _flirting_ with me, Blaine. It's called being _friends_."

"He called you _babe_."

" _Mercedes_ calls me babe and you don't have a problem with that," Kurt counters, frustrated, crossing his arms across his chest.

"You know that's different, Kurt," Blaine says, giving him a knowing look.

"No, Blaine, I don't. I don't see how that's different. And I don't like you going through my phone. Give it back."

Kurt holds his hand out, waiting for Blaine to pass the phone back. Blaine hands it over, and Kurt slides the phone into the pocket of his robe without even glancing at the screen.

"We agreed I can look at your texts, Kurt," Blaine points out, tone still angry.

"Yes, if you asked, not behind my back while I'm in the shower!"

"It just kept going off! What was I supposed to do, just leave it to keep dinging the whole time?"

" _Yes_ , that's _exactly_ what you were supposed to do!"

Blaine sighs, runs a hand through his loose curls. "Look, this is not- I don't want to fight. I just got here last night. Don't make this a bigger deal than it is."

Kurt stares back at Blaine, wide-eyed. " _Me_? Blaine, I'm not-"

"I don't want to argue!" Blaine interrupts, holding a hand up.

"Then what do you want?" Kurt asks, exasperated.

"I just don't want you flirting with other guys, I don't think that's too much to ask."

"Blaine, I'm not flirting with _anyone_!"

"Kurt, I _saw_ your texts. This is not- we're not fighting about this."

Blaine brushes past Kurt and makes his way to the door, and Kurt feels a pang of guilt. Blaine's right; he just got here last night, they shouldn't be fighting already. He follows behind Blaine, stopping him before he reaches the door.

"Blaine, wait, I... I'm sorry."

Blaine turns, but doesn't say anything, just looks at him expectantly.

"I... I'll talk to him. I really didn't... It doesn't mean anything. It's _not_ anything. You know that, right?"

Blaine nods. "Thank you," he says, stepping forward and wrapping Kurt in a hug, nuzzling his face into the crook of Kurt's neck and placing a sweet kiss there. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

* * *

Kurt had a talk with Chandler, and somehow managed to avoid telling him that Blaine had been reading through their texts; he passed it off as Blaine getting a glimpse at some messages by chance over his shoulder, and Chandler had no reason to question it. The other boy was, of course, incredibly apologetic, and swore he would try to tone things down; he'd also insisted that Kurt tell him if he said anything that made him uncomfortable, and Kurt had agreed.

Blaine is gone back to New York now, and Kurt is hanging out in his room waiting for Blaine's call. It's Friday, and Blaine has been busy since he got back, so they haven't had a chance to talk beyond a few quick texts. He's really looking forward to talking to his boyfriend; they'd left on sort of an awkward not, Kurt still hadn't had a chance to talk to Chandler, and things just feel... off. He's hoping that he can tell Blaine about that conversation tonight, and maybe things will go back to normal.

_Gotta cancel tonight. Going out with Sebastian. Sorry._

Kurt sighs as he reads the message on his phone. Cancelled calls are becoming more and more frequent. Blaine's busy, of course he's busy, and Kurt really doesn't mind the occasional cancelled call. But they haven't talked all week, and it's happening more and more often lately, and the reasons are less often that he's busy with school, and more often that he has plans with his new friends. Or, rather, _friend_.

Kurt is happy for Blaine. Really, he is. He's glad Blaine is making friends, and is getting out in the city and doing things. And he's trying hard not to be a hypocrite – he knows he's cancelled on Blaine for plans with his friends before – but it's _hard_. And it's always Sebastian. Never Wes, or that girl Amanda he mentions sometimes. Always Sebastian. And Kurt thinks _that_ bothers him a lot more than it should.

_No problem. Talk tomorrow._

He taps out his response quickly and hits send.

_Love you._

_Love you too._

He stares down at his phone for a few minutes. He didn't have any other plans tonight, just relaxing and talking to Blaine. But he doesn't really feel like sitting alone in his room all evening. It's Friday night, if he can't talk to his boyfriend he wants to _do something_. He scrolls through his messages, settling on Chandler's contact, and types out a message.

_Hey, are you busy tonight?_

The response is nearly instantaneous.

_**Nope! Why?** _

_Blaine cancelled on me. Want to do something?_

_**I'm watching Project Runway reruns if you want to come over!** _

Well, that certainly sounds a hell of a lot better than the alternative.

_Be there in half an hour._

Forty-five minutes later, Kurt is sitting on Chandler's couch, a bowl of popcorn between them, as models in clothes made from paper strut down the runway.

"I can't believe they made those out of _paper_ ," Chandler says, voice full of awe.

"It's pretty impressive," Kurt agrees.

They sit quietly, watching the fashion show finish, before Kurt speaks again.

"Do you think he's getting tired of me?"

Chandler turns to look at Kurt, confusion on his face. "Who?"

"Blaine."

Chandler's eyes go wide at that. "What? No! Of course not! Why would you say that?"

"I don't know, I just... he's always so busy with other people, sometimes it feels like maybe he just doesn't want to talk to me."

"I'm sure that's not it," Chandler says sincerely, placing a hand on Kurt's arm comfortingly. "It's just New York, of course he's busy."

Kurt sighs. "I know, I guess it's just that I... didn't really expect it to be this often. I don't know."

"Have you talked to him about it?"

"No, I don't want to be too needy."

"Maybe you should," Chandler says with a slight frown. "I'm sure he wouldn't do it as often if he knew it upset you this much."

"It's fine," Kurt says, trying to brush it off, "I don't want him to think that I don't want him out spending time with his friends, I do, I just... I don't know."

"You should tell him that," Chandler repeats quietly.

"I think I just miss him. He'll be home for Christmas soon, I'm sure it will be better after that."


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a time jump, and mostly smut, but we get a little bit of plot at the end. :)

It's Christmas vacation, and Blaine has been home for three days now, and finally, _finally_ , they have the house to themselves. Burt and Carole are gone to visit with a friend of Carole's for the night, and Finn is staying with Puck. And they'll be damned if they aren't going to take advantage of it.

"Since I saw you in the airport, all I've been able to think about is doing this to you," Blaine murmurs, planting a gentle kiss on the inside of Kurt's thigh as he pumps a finger slowly in and out of Kurt's hole.

Kurt is laying on his back, legs spread and pillow under him to lift up his ass and allow Blaine easier access from his spot between Kurt's legs. Kurt is about to respond, surely something clever and witty, but then Blaine's finger brushes over his prostate and he can't quite remember what he was going to say over the wave of pleasure that surges through his body, so he just nods, and Blaine chuckles lightly.

"Are you ready for another?"

"Yeah," Kurt agrees breathlessly.

Blaine adds some more lube, then slides another finger into Kurt and resumes the slow thrusting.

"I love watching you," Blaine says, looking up at Kurt from under thick lashes, "watching your reactions. You're so... sensitive," he finishes, licking a stripe up the underside of Kurt's cock as he scissors his fingers in Kurt's ass, and Kurt whimpers softly.

Then Blaine is sucking lightly on the head of his cock, drawing a sharp gasp from Kurt before swallowing him as far as he can take it and Kurt moans loudly as Blaine begins to bob up on down in time with his fingers pumping inside Kurt. Kurt writhes on the bed beneath Blaine, reaches a hand down and threads his fingers through Blaine's hair as the other hand grasps at the sheets beside him. His hips try to buck up involuntarily, but Blaine's strong hand holds him down to the bed. Kurt barely even notices when Blaine slides the third finger in, thick and slick with lube, stretching him open even further. Blaine moves his other hand from Kurt's hip to his balls, fondling them gently with his fingers. Kurt moans, high and loud, as Blaine takes Kurt's cock deep in his mouth as he strokes over his prostate. Kurt's hips stutter up reflexively, and Blaine pulls off, coughing.

"Blaine, oh my god, I'm so sorry, I- are you okay?" Kurt looks down at Blaine, eyes wide and panicked.

Blaine nods, coughs a few more times. "Yeah, I- I'm fine," he says, voice rough, and Kurt should be a little more concerned for his boyfriend at the moment but he just sounds so _hot_. "I guess I shouldn't have moved my hand," he adds, reaching back down and tapping Kurt's balls lightly, and Kurt gasps and squirms a little on the bed, blushing a shade of red slightly darker than his flushed skin.

"Think you're ready for me now, love?" Blaine asks, moving his hand to Kurt's cock and stroking slowly, teasingly.

"Yeah," Kurt answers, breath hitching.

Blaine places a gentle kiss on the inside of Kurt's thigh, then reaches for the condom he'd pulled from the bedside table drawer earlier and tears it open, sliding it over his hard cock.

"Will you turn over for me?"

"Yeah," Kurt nods, rolling onto his stomach then pulling his knees under him, presenting his ass to Blaine.

"Man of few words today, are we?" Blaine teases, kneading at Kurt's cheeks and biting gently.

"Don't get used to it," Kurt huffs, "it's just hard to think sometimes when you're-" he cuts himself off with a high-pitched whine as Blaine licks at his stretched hole. " _Blaine_."

"Yes, love?" Blaine asks, voice dripping with feigned innocence.

" _Please_."

Blaine chuckles darkly, and then his tongue is gone, soon replaced by the head of his cock lined up with Kurt's opening. "Is this what you want? Hm?"

"Yes, Blaine, _please_ ," Kurt pleads.

"You want me inside you, love? Want me to pound you into this mattress, make you feel it for days?"

"Yeah, yes, please, Blaine, _fuck me_." Kurt is begging now, but he doesn't care, he's just so desperate for it, needs to feel Blaine inside him.

Blaine's response is to wordlessly plunge into Kurt, both boys moaning in unison as he sinks deep inside Kurt's ass, burying himself fully in the tight heat. Kurt feels the stretch, and it stings a little, but he welcomes the feeling as Blaine fills him up. Blaine pauses there, fully sheathed inside Kurt, letting him adjust to the feeling before moving. He leans over and places a gentle kiss to Kurt's shoulder blade.

"Move," Kurt says, voice high and breathy, because he just feels so full of _Blaine_ and the burn is fading and all he wants is to feel _more_.

Blaine complies happily, drawing out of Kurt almost completely before sliding back inside. The first few thrusts are slow and gentle, but before long Blaine is going hard and fast, drawing breathless moans and whines from both boys as he fucks Kurt into the mattress beneath them.

Kurt feels every thrust like a jolt of electricity through his body. Blaine is at just the right angle, pressing against his prostate nearly every thrust, and Kurt would be wondering how Blaine is managing to _do_ that if he was able to think at all over the waves of pleasure crashing over him every time Blaine hits that spot, and Blaine hasn't even _touched_ his cock, and he's never come like this, from just this, but he feels the pressure building in his balls, fast and sudden, and he barely has time to babble out a warning before he's shooting all over the bed beneath him.

"Kurt, _fuck_ ," Blaine groans behind him, rolling his hips down hard a few more times before Kurt hears him gasp, hips stuttering to a stop as he comes deep inside Kurt.

Blaine pulls out of Kurt slowly, and Kurt whines a little at the empty feeling he's left with. Then Blaine is lying beside Kurt, pulling Kurt onto his side so his back is against Blaine's chest and Blaine's arms are wrapped around him. Kurt curls into Blaine's arms, humming contentedly as he feels Blaine's warm breath on the back of his neck.

"I love you," Blaine whispers into the skin at the base of Kurt's neck.

"I love you, too, Bee," Kurt whispers back sleepily.

They lay there like that for a long while, so long that Kurt has nearly fallen asleep, before Blaine speaks again.

"I want to see my parents again." His voice is soft, and Kurt could almost miss it if it weren't for the silence of the room.

Kurt opens an eye, turns his head a bit to look at Blaine. "What?"

"I uh... I want to see my parents," Blaine repeats quietly.

Kurt shifts on the bed, rolling onto his back so he can better meet Blaine's eyes.

"Why?" he asks, bewildered. Kurt knows Blaine's relationship with his parents is complicated at best, but Blaine had never expressed any interest in talking to them again until now; he could maybe understand Blaine wanting to see his mother again, but his _dad_?

"I dunno, they just... they're my parents, you know? I know they haven't been the best, but I just...," he trails off, staring at the ceiling, seemingly lost in thought.

"Blaine, honey, I think that's a little bit of an understatement. Your dad _hit_ you, I don't think he deserves-"

"It was just the one time," Blaine cuts him off defensively, "it's not like he went around hitting me all the time. It was just... just once, and it was kind of my fault, anyway, I mean, I shouldn't have been talking back to him."

"Bee, no, come here," Kurt says, wrapping Blaine up in his own arms now, holding his boyfriend close to his chest. "That was not your fault. I just don't... If you want to see them again, okay. I will support you, Blaine, one hundred percent. I will go with you, if you want. But just... I want you to do it because _you_ want to, not because you owe it to them. You don't owe him anything. Okay?" Kurt's voice is low and soothing as he strokes his fingers through Blaine's curls, plants a small, sweet kiss on the top of Blaine's head.

"I want to do it," Blaine says.

"Okay. We'll do it, then," Kurt replies simply, giving Blaine a little squeeze.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a shorter chapter, but I felt like it should stand alone, so here it is. TW for slurs and (not very graphic) physical assault.

"You're sure you want to do this?" Kurt asks, giving Blaine's hand a squeeze as they sit in his car and stare ahead at the large house in front of them.

"I'm sure. I think I need to."

"Okay."

The two boys get out of the car, join hands, and head toward the front steps of Blaine's parents' house. Blaine hasn't spoken to his parents since he and Burt came to pick up his things in the summer. Burt had discussed financials with Blaine's mother before Blaine moved to New York, and the money he needed was being transferred into his account each month, so he hadn't needed to get in touch with them. He hadn't even called to make sure they'd be home now; just showed up and hoped they would be. It's a Wednesday evening, and Blaine had figured there was a good chance they wouldn't have any events to be at this evening; and he seems to be right, since both cars are parked out front.

They climb the stairs, and Blaine reaches forward to ring the doorbell. The two boys stand there silently, waiting. Kurt gives Blaine's hand a gentle, reassuring squeeze as they hear footsteps approaching from inside and a woman's voice, Kurt thinks he recognizes it as Blaine's mother, call out that she's coming.

A moment later, the door is opening, and Blaine's mother is standing there, a look of surprise on her face when she realizes who exactly is standing on her front step. The three of them stand there for a moment, staring at each other, before Blaine's mother is reaching forward, wrapping Blaine in a hug and pulling him away from Kurt.

"Blaine, sweetheart," she says, holding Blaine tightly, "you should have told us you were coming! We've missed you so much, we've been so worried."

She pulls back, grabs Blaine's hand and pulls him into the house. Kurt follows behind, a little awkwardly, but he supposes not being acknowledged is better than being yelled at, and she seems happy that Blaine is here, so he doesn't say anything. He knows when it's better to keep his mouth shut, and this is one of those times.

"Who's there?" Blaine's father's voice calls from upstairs.

"Honey, it's Blaine!" his mother calls back. "Oh, your father will be so happy to see you," she says to Blaine, cupping his cheek with her hand. She chances a quick glance at Kurt, and he sees a brief flash of uncertainty and possibly disappointment in her eyes, but then they're all focusing on Thomas Anderson as he comes down the stairs and into the room, and he tries to put those thoughts out of his mind. He's here for Blaine.

"Blaine?" his father asks, voice a little confused.

"Hi, dad," Blaine responds quietly.

"I didn't realize you were back in the state."

"Yeah, I uh... for Christmas. I'm, um, staying with Kurt," he says, gesturing back toward Kurt, and then Thomas' eyes focus on him, his face hardening.

"Why are you here, Blaine," his father asks, brushing past Blaine on his way to the cupboard where he refills the glass in his hand, "and why would you bring _him_ into this house?"

" _He_ has a name," Blaine says, "his name is Kurt. He's here because he's my boyfriend. And _I'm_ here before I'm your son."

Thomas takes a sip of his drink, then slams it down on the counter and walks toward Blaine. "No faggot like him is welcome in my house," he says with a look of disgust as he eyes Kurt over Blaine's shoulder. Kurt flinches a little at the word, but stays quiet.

"You don't talk about him like that!" Blaine says, voice raised, angry.

"Don't you yell at me, boy," his father warns.

"Don't talk about my boyfriend that way," Blaine counters.

"You bring a queer like that in my house and I'll talk about his fucking faggot ass any way I like. He's not welcome here."

"I said don't talk to him like that!" Blaine says, yelling now, and he closes the small distance remaining between himself and his father, then gives his father a shove. Thomas stumbles back a few steps before catching his balance.

"Blaine!" Kurt gasps, anxious, taking a step forward.

"You stay back there," Blaine's father warns, glaring at Kurt, and Kurt freezes in place.

"You listen here, boy," Thomas says, voice low, walking up to Blaine again and gripping his bicep tight, and Kurt notices the slightest wobble in Blaine's father's steps and wonders how much Thomas has had to drink this evening, "you do not want to start this."

"I didn't start anything, dad, you did," Blaine argues, voice lower but Kurt can tell he's having a hard time controlling it.

"I'm not the one walking around telling people I'm a faggot, that's all you. And not only that, but with this fairy? It's disgusting."

"I said don't _talk_ about him like that," Blaine raises his voice again, moving to shove his father but this time Thomas is expecting it and grabs Blaine's arms.

"I don't know when you're going to grow out of this phase, Blaine, but it had better be soon."

"It's not a _phase_ , dad. I like boys. I _love_ Kurt."

"You don't _love_ him, don't be ridiculous. It's not natural. This is some sick perversion that got in your head. I knew we should have sent you to one of those camps when you were younger, but your mother wouldn't let me."

"Right, like some conversion therapy was going to make me want to suck dick any less," Blaine counters, and Kurt would have really appreciated the comeback, but then Blaine's father is hauling off and punching him square in the jaw and there's no time to appreciate Blaine's wit.

"Blaine!" Kurt cries, running forward to grab his boyfriend and pull him backward, away from the man who'd just punched him in the face.

"You get out of my house," Thomas spits at them, glaring darkly at the two boys.

Blaine rubs at his jaw, looking helplessly between his father and his mother, who is simply standing off to the side and staring between them, a hand covering her mouth.

"Come on, Bee," Kurt whispers, tugging on Blaine's arm, "we should go."

Blaine nods dumbly, seemingly in a bit of a daze, but allows Kurt to pull him down the hallway and out of the house, back to the car. They get in and Kurt starts it and drives away, not wanting to give Blaine's father a chance to follow them out into the driveway.

"Are you okay?" Kurt asks quietly, finding Blaine's hand and giving it a little squeeze. Blaine doesn't squeeze back.

"I don't know," Blaine says simply, barely a whisper.

"I'm so sorry, Bee."

Blaine doesn't reply, and they spend the rest of the drive back to the house in silence.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who has been reading along. I really love this chapter. Usually my favourite chapters are the really eventful and angsty ones, but I just had so much fun writing this one, and even more fun reading it back during my editing process. I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. <3

Blaine doesn't talk about that evening at his parents' house any more. Kurt tries a few times, asks if he's okay or wants to talk about it, but every time Blaine just insists that he's fine and changes the topic. Eventually, Kurt just stops trying to bring it up; he figures Blaine will talk about it on his own time, if he needs to.

It's Christmas Eve now, and Kurt and Blaine decided they wanted to exchange their gifts tonight while they're alone. They don't want to do it in front of the whole family, want it to be more private. So now Blaine is sitting on Kurt's bed, legs crossed, gift sitting beside him as Kurt walks over to his closet to pull out his git for Blaine. He pulls a small box, delicately wrapped in blue and silver paper and topped with a blue bow, from the top shelf, then walks back to the bed and sits opposite Blaine.

"Here," he says, handing the box to Blaine, "you go first."

"Okay," Blaine says with a soft smile, taking the box from Kurt's hand and shifting it between his own hands. "It's a watch," Blaine declares.

Kurt laughs. "It's not a watch."

"Hmm," Blaine contemplates, shaking the box lightly, "is it a pen? No, I know, a mug!"

"It's not a pen, and a mug wouldn't even fit in that box!" Kurt says, rolling his eyes and laughing again. "Just open it."

"Oh, fine," Blaine says, shooting him a warm smile as he gently pulls at the ribbon wrapped around the gift. He pulls the ribbon away, then carefully unwraps the paper from the box, pulling it away in a single piece.

"A box! Just what I've always wanted!" Blaine's voice is filled with mock surprise.

"Blaine," Kurt scolds, but he can't help but laugh at his adorable boyfriend. Sometimes he forgets just what a dork Blaine can be.

Blaine flashes Kurt another smile before he lifts the lid off the box. He places the box and lid on the bed in front of him, and lifts the thin strip of fabric lying inside.

"It's a bowtie," Kurt explains. He knows he doesn't need to explain; Blaine obviously knows it's a bowtie, but he's bit anxious, Blaine isn't saying anything, just looking at the navy and yellow fabric in his hand, and it's their first Christmas together, what if Blaine doesn't like the gift?

"Are these birds?" Blaine asks, looking back up at Kurt with a smile.

Kurt nods. "Yeah, they um... they reminded me of warblers," he explains, blushing a little, and god he feels like he did when they first started dating, blushing all the time, "and we wouldn't have met if it weren't for The Warblers."

"These are birds, too," Blaine says, putting the bowtie back in the box and pulling out the pair of cuff links, looking at them closely.

"Yeah," Kurt nods, cheeks still red.

"I love them," Blaine says, looking back at Kurt with a wide smile that melts him just a little.

"You do?" he asks, hopeful.

"Of course, love," Blaine says, putting the cuff links back in the box and leaning forward, cupping Kurt's cheek in his hand, "thank you so much." Blaine places a small, sweet kiss to Kurt's lips, then sits back again. "Your turn," he says, handing the small box to his side wrapped in red and green paper to Kurt.

Kurt takes the box; it's smaller than the one he'd given to Blaine. He unwraps it carefully and places the paper aside. He flips the lid back, and if he wasn't still alive he would swear his heart stopped. He traces a finger over the delicate wing of the dragonfly brooch nestled in the soft blue velvet lining of the box.

" _Blaine_ ," he whispers, voice thick.

"It reminded me of your mom's. I know you don't wear hers, but I thought... maybe when you wanted to be reminded of her, you could wear this one, and you wouldn't have to worry about damaging hers."

"It's perfect," he whispers, eyes not leaving the brooch. He picks it up carefully, holds it in his hand as he watches the light reflecting off the blues and greens, and he feels himself tearing up.

"So you like it?" Blaine asks, and Kurt picks up on the hint of tension in his voice.

He looks up, finally, and meets Blaine's worried eyes. "Blaine, I love it. So much. Thank you so much."

He puts the brooch carefully back in the box, closes the lid and places it safely on the side table before he leans forward, slipping his fingers into the hair on the back of Blaine's head, and pulling his boyfriend forward into a searing kiss. Blaine takes a moment to respond, seemingly caught off-guard, but then he's kissing Kurt back, lips and teeth and tongues swirling together.

After a few moments, Kurt pulls back from the kiss, resting his forehead against Blaine's as the two boys catch their breath.

"I love you. So much, Bee," Kurt says, and he means it, he _so_ means it, sometimes he still wonders how he got so lucky to find this perfect boy, what he ever did in his life to make Blaine Anderson decide he wanted to be with him, too.

"I love you, too," is Blaine's response, and Kurt is sure he'll never grow tired of hearing those words from Blaine's lips.

* * *

"Tea?" Kurt asks, holding the fresh pot up as Blaine walks into the kitchen on Christmas morning, still in his pajamas, curly hair sticking up at all angles. Kurt can't help but smile a bit at how adorably disoriented his boyfriend looks in the mornings.

"Is there coffee?" Blaine asks, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"Carole was just brewing some, it'll be ready in a minute. I'll bring it in."

"Thanks," Blaine says with a small smile, then continues into the living room.

Kurt puts the teapot down, picks up his mug and takes a small sip while he waits for the coffee machine to finish.

He used to hate Christmas. It was just another family holiday that reminded him his mom was gone. But, slowly, he's grown to like it again. It's still a painful reminder of how much he misses his mother, and he doesn't think that will ever go away, but now it also means time with Carole and Finn, time with _Blaine_ , and he's realized that he can let himself enjoy new family even though he doesn't have his mother anymore.

The coffee maker finishes then, and Kurt takes the coffee pot and pours a couple cups for Carole and Blaine. Carole walks back into the kitchen and Kurt hands her mug over.

"Thanks, honey," she says, taking the mug in her hands with a warm smile before heading back to the living room. Kurt picks up his and Blaine's mugs and follows behind her.

He takes a seat on the couch next to Blaine and passes over the steaming mug of coffee.

"Thanks," Blaine murmurs, placing a soft kiss to Kurt's cheek.

"Careful, it's hot."

Finn comes in then, collapsing onto the couch on Kurt's other side. "Man, I love Christmas," he says with a yawn and a dopey smile.

"Then why is it you're the last one in here?" Burt asks with a laugh from his chair.

"Just because it's Christmas doesn't mean it's not early," he grumbles.

"Okay, shall we open some presents?" Carole asks, getting up from her own chair and walking toward the Christmas tree. She picks up a medium-sized box wrapped messily in green paper. "Burt, looks like this one is for you," she says, smiling as she walks over and hands the box to Kurt's father.

Carole walks back and forth to the tree, picking out gifts one at a time to hand out. By the time all the gifts have been opened, Kurt has unwrapped a well-intentioned but really quite ugly sweater that he none-the-less thanked Finn for, some miscellaneous car things from his father, and Carole just gave him money to buy something nice – she, unlike her son, knows that Kurt Hummel is the only person who can pick out clothes good enough for Kurt Hummel.

"I think I'll make some breakfast," Carole says with a smile, standing again to make her way back to the kitchen. "How do pancakes sound to everyone?"

"Pancakes sound amazing," Finn says, smiling brightly.

"Sounds great, Carole," Kurt chimes in.

"I'm going to go try this out while we're waiting," Finns says, standing up and grabbing some new video game he'd gotten from Burt before making his way back to his bedroom.

"I think I'll go give Carole a hand," Burt says, a little awkwardly, and then Kurt and Blaine are left alone together in the living room.

Kurt takes Blaine's hand and gives it a light squeeze. "Hey, everything okay?"

Blaine has been quiet all morning. Polite as ever, of course, but something just seems off. Kurt is sure that his father noticed, too, because it's not like Burt to help Carole make breakfast; not that his father wouldn't want to, just that Carole doesn't trust him in the kitchen enough to let him.

"Yeah, everything's fine," Blaine says, giving Kurt a tight smile, but Kurt sees right through it.

"Blaine," Kurt sighs, shifting on the couch so he's facing his boyfriend.

Blaine sighs, too. "I'm fine, it's just... It's my first Christmas not... away from home."

"Oh, Bee," Kurt says sadly, pulling Blaine into a hug. "I'm sorry."

Blaine doesn't respond, just stays there, letting Kurt wrap his arms around him. The two boys sit there on the couch for several minutes in silence before Kurt finally speaks again.

"I know it's not the same," he starts quietly, "but I kind of get it, you know. Missing your family at Christmas. My mom... after she died, Christmas was always really hard. And I know it's different, but just... if you want to talk about it, you can." He presses a soft kiss on the top of Blaine's head. "I'm here for you. Always."

"Thanks," Blaine murmurs.

They don't say anything else, just sit there cuddled together on the couch, until Carole calls them into the kitchen for pancakes.


	9. Chapter 9

Kurt is a little nervous. He's excited, mostly, but also nervous. It's Rachel's New Year's Eve party, and he's been looking forward to celebrating with his boyfriend and all their friends, but he's also anxious about Blaine meeting Chandler. He knows Chandler has caused some tension in their relationship, and he's just hoping that once Blaine finally meets Chandler it might help finally smooth things over. Chandler really _isn't_ a threat, and he just wants Blaine to _see that_.

"Kurt! Blaine!" Rachel screeches, enveloping the boys in a hug as they stand on her front step.

"Hey Rach," Kurt greets her.

"Hi, Rachel," Blaine chimes in.

"Oh, Blaine, you need to tell me _all_ about NYADA!" she sing-songs, grabbing his hand and pulling him into the house. Blaine shrugs helplessly back at Kurt, who just rolls his eyes and follows them into the house and down the stairs.

This is typical Rachel, and he'd been expecting this. Rachel has been bugging him non-stop about what Blaine thought of NYADA. NYADA, NYADA, NYADA, it was all the girl could talk about. And he loves Rachel, he really does, but it's a little exhausting at times, and he's hoping that once she gets her fill of information straight from the source, she might lay off a bit. Rachel drags Blaine over to a corner of the room, where she sits him down and leans in, talking animatedly, and Kurt can faintly hear her voice asking excited questions over the music playing in the room. He looks around, surveying the other guests who have already arrived. He sees Santana and Brittany up dancing together, Tina sitting in Mike's lap on a couch against the far wall, and Mercedes standing with Sam and Quinn at the bar. He's about to head over to Mercedes when he's tackled from behind with a hug.

"Kurt!" a familiar voice squeals in his ear.

"Chandler, hi!" Kurt says, extracting himself from the other boy's arms and turning to face him.

"Where's Blaine?"

"Rachel got to him," Kurt says, giving Chandler a rueful smile.

"Ah, he'll be there a while then," Chandler says, nodding knowingly. "Do you want a drink?"

"Oh, no, I'm driving," Kurt says, dangling his car keys.

Chandler gives him a warm smile. "Yeah, me too. Drinking isn't really my thing anyway. We can get sodas, come on!"

Kurt chances a glance over at Blaine, who seems deeply immersed in his conversation with Rachel, so when Chandler grabs his hand and drags him off toward the bar, he follows happily behind. Kurt stands by Mercedes while Chandler goes to the fridge to find them someone non-alcoholic to drink.

"There's Pepsi on the bottom shelf!" Mercedes calls out to Chandler, who gives her a thumbs up before going back to rooting through the fridge, this time on the lower shelves. "Hey Kurt, how are you?" she asks, wrapping him in a quick hug.

"I'm good! Boyfriendless for the moment, but eventually Rachel will have enough and she might give him back to me."

Mercedes chuckles. "I wouldn't hold your breath. All she could talk about before you got here was how much she wanted to ask Blaine about NYADA."

"I just hope she'll stop asking _me_ about NYADA," Kurt rolls his eyes and laughs.

"Here you are, good sir," Chandler says, taking a small dramatic bow as he holds out a can of Pepsi to Kurt.

Kurt laughs and accepts the drink with a smile. "Thanks."

They stand there at the bar for a while talking, and Kurt loses track of time until he feels an arm wrap around his waist, a kiss pressed to his cheek, and a warm, solid body sliding in between himself and Chandler. "Hey, Kurt."

Kurt blushes a little; as comfortable as he's gotten with all the things he and Blaine do together, public displays of affection beyond holding hands always make him feel a little awkward.

"You managed to get away from Rachel, I see?" he teases, turning to look at his boyfriend.

"Wes saved me," Blaine says, gesturing to his friend behind them.

"Wes, hi! I wasn't sure if you were going to make it," Kurt says with another smile, turning to look at the other boy now.

"Well someone needed to save this guy from being stuck in that corner all night since clearly his boyfriend wasn't planning to do anything about it, Wes teases with a wink. "Is nobody playing bartender yet?" he asks with mock horror.

"No, not yet. Rachel said she was too busy being a 'hostess' to do it," Mercedes says, rolling her eyes.

"Puck will probably do it when he gets here," Sam adds.

Wes shakes his head. "No, that just won't do. We need a bartender _now_ , and I know just the guy," he says, holding his hands out as though to part a crowd, despite the lack of crowd, as he walks around to the other side of the bar. "Blaine, what'll it be? Wait, no, don't answer, I'll surprise you," he decides, going to work behind the bar and rummaging through the fridge and shelves under the bar top as he takes stock of what he has to work with.

"Oh, Blaine, this is Chandler," Kurt says a bit awkwardly, gesturing to his friend on Blaine's other side.

"It's so nice to meet you!" Chandler exclaims excitedly, "Kurt talks about you _all_ the time, I've heard so much about you. It's so great to finally meet you!"

Blaine turns to look at Chandler, and Kurt can't see his expression anymore, but his voice at least sounds cordial when he responds. "Good to meet you, too." Kurt supposes it's all he can ask for; at least Blaine is trying.

"Blaine, dude, how are ya man?" Sam asks, walking around the others and pulling Blaine into a hug. Blaine hugs Sam back.

He can still feel the tension in the air, but he figures it will ease as Blaine gets a little more comfortable with Chandler. The night goes on, and Kurt loses count of Blaine's drinks. Every time he suggests Blaine should take it easy, Blaine brushes him off, so Kurt just gives up. He figures there can't be any harm beyond the awful hangover Blaine is sure to have in the morning.

Kurt is seated in a chair chatting with Sam and Blaine on the couch across from him when Chandler walks over and takes a seat on the arm of Kurt's chair, leaning a bit to the side and draping an arm around Kurt's shoulders to support himself.

"Hey guys, what's going on here?" Chandler asks cheerily.

"Alright, no, that's it," Blaine spits angrily, standing from his spot on the couch next to Sam. "Kurt, a word?" Blaine gestures toward the doorway to the bathroom.

Chandler straightens up, and Kurt stands slowly. "Blaine, I don't understand what-"

"Just, get over here," Blaine says, grabbing Kurt's bicep roughly and pulling him toward the door, and Kurt can hear the faint slur of Blaine's words.

"Blaine, stop, you're hurting me," he scolds quietly, so the others don't hear; he doesn't want to cause a scene.

Blaine doesn't let go of Kurt's arm until they're in the bathroom, door closed behind them. He releases his grip, just as roughly as he'd grabbed on, and Kurt rubs his arm where Blaine's hand had been.

"What?" Kurt asks, annoyed.

"You're just gonna let him hang _all_ over you all night? Right in front of me?" Blaine asks, and he's very clearly slurring his words now.

"Blaine, he's not- you're drunk, calm down." Kurt says, keeping his voice hushed, hoping Blaine will follow suit.

He doesn't.

"I'm not going to calm down, Kurt. I'm in New York _trying_ to get an education, trying to make you _proud of me_ , and you're back here, what, screwing around with any guy who will give you the time of day?"

" _Blaine_!" How could Blaine think he would ever do that, _could_ ever do that? He _loves_ Blaine, so much it hurts sometimes. He would never cheat, and it breaks his heart a million times over that Blaine would think him even capable of it. "You know I'm not. That is _not_ what this is."

"No, Kurt, I don't know. Because that's sure what it looks like to me. You just want someone to touch you, you don't care who it is, do you?" Blaine says, voice low, and he pushes Kurt back up against the wall, takes a step toward him.

"Blaine, stop it," Kurt says sternly, but his voice wavers ever so slightly; Blaine either doesn't notice, or doesn't care.

"Nobody else gets to do that, Kurt. Nobody. Just me. I'm your _boyfriend_. You don't get to go whoring yourself out to the first guy you see that will touch you," Blaine continues, pinning Kurt against the wall with a hand on one of Kurt's shoulders; the other hand reaches down between Kurt's legs, groping over his soft cock in his pants, and Blaine's mouth presses against Kurt's neck, kissing and nipping at the skin there.

"Blaine, _stop_ ," Kurt insists again, this time his voice is more wobbly than firm. Blaine is starting to scare him. This scene is all too familiar, reminds him too much of that day in the locker room, and Blaine won't stop, Blaine is so _mad_ , and he doesn't know what he can do.

"This what you want?" Blaine asks, moving to undo the buckle of Kurt's belt, mouth still against Kurt's neck where he's working on sucking a bruise into the skin. "Want someone to touch you? I'll touch you, babe. You're all mine. Gonna show you you only need me, nobody else." Blaine fumbles a bit, but manages to open Kurt's belt, reaches a hand down the front of his pants.

"Stop," Kurt cries out, and he really is crying now, tears starting to fall down his face as he feels Blaine's hand groping him roughly, the skin on skin contact drawing a sob from his body. This can't be happening. This is not happening. It can't be. But he's frozen in place, can't bring himself to push Blaine away for some reason, so he just closes his eyes and wills Blaine to stop, wills himself to do _something_.

The door opens then, and Kurt doesn't see who it is, but he feels Blaine being pulled away from him. He sinks to the floor, burying his face in his hands, hyperventilating as sobs wrack through his body. He hears voices above him, thinks one might be Sam, but everything feels like he's underwater and free-falling at the same time and he can't focus enough to make out what any of them are saying. What must be only a few moment later but feels like a lifetime, he feels a pair of solid hands grip his shoulders, and he flinches back, sobbing even harder at the touch, he just needs to _get away_ , but there's nowhere to go, nobody is holding him here but he's trapped all the same, unable to move as invisible walls close in around him.

"Shit, Kurt, I'm sorry, I... you need to breathe," a voice says from in front of him, and it's a male's voice, not Blaine or Sam, but someone else, he can't place who, and he doesn't open his eyes to find out, can't make himself look yet, so he just rocks a little in place.

"Please, Kurt. You're gonna pass out. Breathe with me, okay?" The voice asks gently. Kurt doesn't answer, but the voice continues anyway. "We're gonna breath in for four seconds, then out for six, okay? Do it with me."

The voice in front of him guides him, repeats a mantra of "breathe in, two three, four, breathe out, two three, four, five, six," and eventually Kurt finds himself being able to follow along. He takes in deep, shuddering breaths before exhaling them, still letting out a sob every few breaths, but he's managed to regulate his breathing and he feels the panic start to subside. He sniffles a bit, drops his hands, and finally takes a look at the boy in front of him.

"There you go, good job," Wes says, eyes full of concern as he tries to give Kurt an encouraging smile.

Kurt wipes at the tears on his face, sniffles again. "Sorry," he says weakly.

"No, Kurt, it's fine," Wes says quickly, but he seems uncertain, like there's something else he wants to say but he's not sure how to say it.

They sit there in silence for a few moments, Wes' eyes glued to Kurt's and Kurt's eyes glued to the tile floor.

"Are you... okay?" Wes asks cautiously. "I don't... did he... what happened?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Kurt says, almost as a reflex; he's so used to not letting anyone in, and he's friends with Wes, sure, but it's not like it is with Mercedes or Tina or Rachel, and even if it was, he'd probably still lie. "I just, um... had a panic attack, I think. It wasn't- he didn't, um... it's fine." He knows it doesn't sound like much of an explanation, but he doesn't want to talk about this. Not right now, and not with Wes.

"Are you sure?" Wes asks, tilting his head to the side. "That seemed like... well, a lot."

"Yeah," Kurt says, wiping the last of the tears from his face, "I'm fine. Where, uh, where is Blaine?"

He's not actually sure that he wants to know, right now, but he figures that he _should_ want to know, so he asks anyway.

"Sam took him outside, I think."

Kurt just nods, stares ahead for a few moments, then finally stands and makes his way out of the bathroom, through the basement and up the stairs, barely even registering his friends' concerned voices or Wes following behind him and calling for him to wait; he feels like he's floating through the world, like an out-of-body experience where he's watching himself from above, going through these motions that he knows he should be going through, but not really thinking.

He grabs his coat from the closet, pulls it on and fastens the belt around his waist, then steps outside to find Blaine; it doesn't take long. Blaine and Sam are sitting on the front deck, backs against the house, Blaine huddled in Sam's arms, sobbing.

"Blaine." It's a whisper, Kurt barely hears it himself, but Blaine's eyes snap open and he looks right at Kurt.

" _Kurt_ ," Blaine breathes, voice breaking, and then he's sobbing harder.

"He won't say anything," Sam says, looking up at Kurt and Wes wide-eyed.

Kurt stands there, frozen, staring down at the two boys huddled together. He knows he should be there, holding Blaine, but he just can't bring himself to do it. Thankfully, Wes seems to know what to do, and he's crouched on the ground on Blaine's other side, rubbing a soothing hand on Blaine's arms and talking quietly into Blaine's ear. Kurt can't make out the words, probably wouldn't really register them even if they were loud enough to hear, but after a few minutes Blaine is nodding, wiping at his tears, and Wes is helping him stumble to his feet.

"I think you should get him home, and uh... maybe yourself, too," Wes says, looking at Kurt. "Do you... are you okay to drive?"

Kurt shakes his head a little, trying to snap himself back to reality, but when Wes' face fills with even more concern – which is impressive, Kurt thinks, given how concerned the boy already looks – he realizes how it must have been interpreted.

"No, no, I mean- yes, yeah, um. I'm fine. To drive," he sputters out.

"Are you sure?" Wes sounds skeptical. "I'm sure we could find someone to take you, or if you don't want to be...," he trails off.

"Yeah, no, it's okay," Kurt says quickly, "it's not far, I- I'm fine."

"Okay," Wes nods slowly, "I'll just grab his jacket."

At the mention of his jacket, Blaine wraps his arms around himself and shivers, almost as though just remembering he should be cold. Kurt just feels numb.

A few moments later, Wes emerges from the house with Blaine's jacket, draping it around his shoulders. "Let's get you in the car."

Wes walks down to the car with the two boys, helping Blaine as he stumbles over his own feet. Kurt unlocks the car and gets behind the wheel while Wes helps Blaine into the passenger seat, fastening his seatbelt, and then Blaine is slumping over against the closed door. Wes comes around to Kurt's side, and Kurt rolls his window down.

"You sure you're okay?" Wes asks, face still just as concerned as the first time Kurt opened his eyes to see the other boy crouched before him.

"Yeah," Kurt nods, not really trusting himself to say anything more.

"Okay," Wes says, not seeming entirely convinced, but he doesn't argue and Kurt counts that as a win. "Just, um, text me when you get home, okay? So I know you're safe?"

"Sure," Kurt agrees.

Wes just nods, and takes a step back from the car. Kurt rolls up his window, pulls out of the driveway, and starts the short drive home, Blaine asleep in the passenger seat beside him.


	10. Chapter 10

Kurt steps out of the shower the next morning, tousling his hair with a towel. He hangs it back on the rack, then walks across the bathroom to pick his robe off its hook, pulling it on over his shoulders and tying it at his waist. He makes his way out of the bathroom to his vanity, sitting there and working through his morning skincare routine. He knows he'll have to face Blaine today, really talk to his boyfriend, but he's not ready quite yet. He applies each product carefully in his vanity mirror, as though the lotions and serums have been specially formulated to give him the strength to deal with this, whatever _this_ is. He finishes up, then stands and walks over to his closet to choose his outfit for the day. Selecting a pair of tight gray pants paired with a simple turquoise tee, he shrugs off his robe and hangs it on the back of the closet door. He pulls the shirt on over his head, then pulls each leg through his pants, fastening them around his hips with a yellow belt. He makes his way back to his vanity, sitting down to style his hair, but he freezes when he catches sight of his reflection. Slowly, delicately, he traces over the purple finger-shaped bruises peeking out from under the short sleeve of his shirt. He almost forgot that part of the evening, so consumed by everything that came after, it seems so insignificant now, but before he even registers the feelings there's a sob catching in his throat. He brings his hand to his mouth, trying to hold the tears back.

"Breathe, Kurt. Breathe," he whispers to himself, taking in shaky breaths, trying to calm himself back down. It's not a big deal; not really. He's okay. They're okay. Blaine was drunk, he didn't _mean_ it. Blaine would never hurt Kurt. It would kill Blaine to know he'd hurt Kurt.

Kurt blinks back a few tears before they can fall, then stands and turns back toward his closet. Looks like it will be long sleeves for the next few days. At last it's winter so nobody will question it.

After he changes and styles his hair, Kurt is standing at Blaine's bedroom door, glass of water in hand, and he knocks softly. He hears a pained groan from the other side of the door, and figures that's permission enough, so he pushes the door open, steps through and pulls it closed behind him. Blaine is still in bed, buried under a mountain of blankets. Kurt flicks the light on, then steps towards the side of the bed.

"No," Blaine mumbles from under the mountain of blankets, "light."

Kurt takes a step back, flicks the light back off, then makes his way over to Blaine. He sets the glass of water down on the side table with a couple Advil he'd brought. "I brought you water. And Advil."

It takes a moment, but then Blaine is pushing the covers down, reaching out for the pills and popping them into his mouth before chasing them with the glass of water.

"My head," Blaine moans, closing his eyes as soon as they aren't absolutely needed to see what he's doing, and holding a hand to his forehead.

"I know," Kurt says, and he reaches out and rubs Blaine's arm gently, not sure if it will really give him any comfort, but feeling like he needs to be doing _something_.

"I'm gonna be sick," Blaine mumbles, and with no more warning than that Blaine is hunched over the side of the bed and heaving onto the floor below.

Kurt rubs Blaine's back as he leans over the side of the bed, spitting up the remnants of whatever he'd eaten at the party last night. When Blaine is finally done, he picks up the glass of water again with a shaky hand, downs the rest of it, then collapses back into the bed, pulling the blankets up over his head again.

"I'll um... I'll get you some more water," Kurt says, picking up the empty glass, "and maybe a bucket. Just in case."

He steps around the puddle of vomit on the floor – he supposes he'll need to deal with that, too – and makes his way back to the kitchen. It's going to be a long morning.

He spends the rest of the morning in and out of Blaine's room, bringing him water and saltine crackers to try to get something to stay down. Eventually, when Blaine seems a little more alive, Kurt manages to convince him to get up and take a shower.

"Remind me to never drink that much again," Blaine groans, walking into Kurt's room after his shower and laying across the bed.

Kurt sits at his vanity, organizing his skincare products, and looks at Blaine's reflection behind him in the mirror. "I'll try," he says before going back to what he was doing.

"Hey, is... something wrong?" Blaine asks.

"No," Kurt says, not taking his eyes off the products in front of him.

" _Kurt_."

Kurt stops what he's doing, but doesn't turn around, doesn't look at Blaine. "Do you remember anything about last night?"

"Not much," Blaine replies sheepishly. "Did... what happened?"

"We just... it's nothing, Blaine." He knows he doesn't sound very convincing.

He hears Blaine shifting on the bed behind him. "We what?" He sounds confused.

"You, um... we just got in a fight, kind of, but it – you were drunk, Blaine, it's not... it's fine."

Blaine gets up off the bed, makes his way over to Kurt and puts a hand on Kurt's shoulder; Kurt flinches back instinctively at the touch. He doesn't mean to, he can't help it, but it just brings him back to that place, that day in the locker room that he hasn't thought about in _so long_ , and now last night, too, and everything is just rushing back to him again and he feels the tears stinging behind his eyes.

" _Kurt_ ," Blaine says, dropping his hand from Kurt's shoulder, "I'm sorry, I..."

"Can you just... go? Please?" He asks, voice strained as he tries to hold back the tears. He can't talk to Blaine about this, not right now. He _knows_ Blaine didn't mean it, knows Blaine would never intentionally hurt him, and he knows how upset Blaine will be if they have this conversation right now and he just can't deal with it. He needs more time, time to get his own emotions under control and figure out what he should say.

"Are you sure?" Blaine asks, voice full of concern now, and he reaches a hand out to touch Kurt's arm but seems to think better of it at the last minute and lets it fall back to his side.

"Yeah," Kurt says, nodding; he doesn't think he can say anything else without crying.

"Okay," Blaine says, slowly backing away toward the door. "I uh... I'll be in my room. Come talk to me when you're ready? Please?"

Kurt doesn't respond, just nods, and watches in his peripheral vision as Blaine leaves, closing the door softly behind himself.

He takes in a deep, shuddering breath and stares back at himself in the mirror.

"Pull yourself together," he says quietly to his reflection.

Why is he so upset? Blaine scared him a bit, sure, but it's not really _Blaine's_ fault, is it? Blaine didn't do anything really bad, they just got in a bit of a fight, Kurt wouldn't be reacting nearly as strongly if it weren't for Karofsky last year, and that's not on Blaine. He hadn't thought about this in so long, and he kind of hates that it still has this much power over him. Blaine is his boyfriend, these situations are completely different. It's not like Blaine did anything they haven't done before, right? So why is he having such a hard time with this?

It takes him a solid hour sitting alone in his room, thinking, before he feels ready to go talk to Blaine. And even then, _ready_ is a bit of a stretch, but he knows this conversation needs to happen; Blaine flies back to New York tomorrow, and this needs to happen before he leaves. He makes his way down the hall to Blaine's room and knocks lightly on the door.

"Come in," Blaine's voice calls from the other side of the door. Kurt opens the door, walks through and pulls it closed behind him.

"Hey," Kurt says quietly, walking over to sit on the bed next to Blaine.

"Hi," Blaine says, shifting to face Kurt. "I, um... I talked to Wes." Blaine is looking down at the ground.

"Oh." He wasn't really expecting that, but he's thankful that maybe he won't have to explain everything to his boyfriend.

"He told me what happened. Kurt, I- I'm so, so sorry. I didn't mean to...," he trails off.

"I know," Kurt murmurs, eyes focused on the floor.

"Hey, look at me," Blaine coaxes him, and Kurt brings his eyes up to meet Blaine's. "Did I... did I hurt you?" His voice breaks when he says _hurt_ , and it _kills_ Kurt to see the fear in Blaine's eyes.

Kurt rubs at the bruise on his arm beneath his sleeve subconsciously. "No, I'm fine, I just..." he trails off, and it's mostly the truth, he thinks. Or at least, it should be. He should be fine. He'd had this planned out so well, but right now, looking at the expression on Blaine's face, he can't remember what he was going to say. He can't tell Blaine that he scared him, can't tell Blaine that last night he felt like he was in that locker room with Karofsky all over again. He can't do that to Blaine, knows how hard Blaine would be on himself.

"Just what?" Blaine asks, honey-eyes wide and full of concern.

"I don't know, I just... I started thinking about being in that locker room, I don't know why, and I just... It shouldn't still bother me." he says lamely.

"No, hey," Blaine says, wrapping his arms around Kurt. Kurt flinches a little at the contact, but doesn't pull away, lets himself try to relax into Blaine's arms, "you're allowed to be upset about that still. Did I... I didn't..."

Kurt knows what Blaine is trying to ask, and maybe his answer isn't completely honest, but it's what Blaine needs to hear right now. "No, I know you would never, I just... I don't know, Blaine, I'm sorry," he says, his voice hitching a little on the last word.

"Hey, love, no, that's... it's okay." Blaine squeezes him a little tighter, plants a soft kiss in Kurt's hair. "It's okay."

Kurt takes a deep breath in, trying to steady his breathing. He doesn't respond, just sits there, lets Blaine hold him, and hopes that if Blaine tells him it will be okay enough times, that it really will be.


	11. Chapter 11

"And sent!" Chandler says excitedly, beaming at Kurt across the table as Kurt takes a sip of his coffee.

"NYADA?" Kurt asks.

"Yup! Did you submit your application yet?"

"Not yet, I'm just finishing it," Kurt answers, placing his coffee back on the table and going back to typing.

"That's NYU, Colombia, and NYADA down. Time for California schools. I think I'll start with California-Irvine, then USC."

Kurt's eyes widen a little in surprise. "How many schools are you applying to?"

"Oh, at least ten. They're all so competitive, so this way if I don't get into some of them I should still have options."

"Oh yeah, right," Kurt agrees with a nod, a little awkwardly. He hadn't really considered the possibility of _not_ getting into NYADA; that's where Blaine is, that's where Rachel's going, that's where he needs to be. There isn't really another option.

Chandler gives him a weird look. "How many are you applying to?"

"I hadn't really thought about applying anywhere other than NYADA," Kurt admits, a bit embarrassed that it hadn't even occurred to him to apply anywhere else.

Chandler frowns at him. "You know, not that I don't think you'll get in, because you're amazing, of course you will, but, you maybe should probably have a backup or two, just in case, you know?"

"Yeah, I guess so," he agrees hesitantly. He doesn't know where else he should apply. He hadn't even considered it as an option, and god, where else _can_ he apply, what if he _doesn't_ get in?

Chandler picks up on his uncertainty immediately. "You want to be in New York, right?"

"Yes, definitely," Kurt nods.

"Alright, well you should definitely apply to NYU. Oh, my god, you _have_ to apply to Parsons, Kurt, I bet you would love it there." Chandler's eyes are sparkling with excitement.

"I've never heard of Parsons... why didn't you apply?"

"Oh, it's a design school. They don't have any music or theatre programs," Chandler explains with a dismissive wave of his hand.

Kurt frowns. Now he's just confused. "Then why would I apply?"

Chandler just smiles back at him. "They have fashion! You would love it. I bet you'd be amazing at that. I mean, you already make your own clothes, and you have such good taste, it would be perfect for you."

Kurt is silent for a moment, contemplating. He hadn't really considered fashion as a career. Of course he loves fashion, it's such a big part of who he is, but making a career out of it? That hadn't really occurred to him. Now that Chandler mentions it, though, it's not really any more of a far-fetched idea than musical theatre and Broadway is. At the very least, it's something he would enjoy, and it seems like a good backup. But he must be taking too long to think about it, because chandler cuts back in again.

"You don't have to, I mean, it's just an idea, I'm sorry if I overstepped I just assumed that maybe–"

"No, no, it um... it's fine. I... maybe. I'll look into it," he agrees.

Chandler exhales, a relieved smile on his face. "Oh good, thank god, I just– it really seems like something you'd be great at."

Kurt smiles back. He has some thinking to do.

* * *

"I think I'm going to apply to Parsons."

Kurt is lying on his bed, head propped in his hands as he watches Blaine looking back at him on his laptop screen.

"They're a design school, right? Why?" Blaine asks, tilting his head to the side.

"I realized I need some backup schools, and I want to be in New York, and I think I would like fashion. If I don't get into a musical theatre program, of course."

He purposely leaves out any mention of Chandler. It's not that he's trying to hide anything from Blaine, not really, he just... doesn't think it's necessary.

Blaine smiles softly. "I bet you'd be great at it. I'm sure you'll get into NYADA, though."

"I hope so, but... it's competitive. And I should have a couple back-up schools just in case."

"Okay. Well, I think that's a good idea."

"Thanks," Kurt says, shooting a warm smile back at his boyfriend.

There's a loud knock on Blaine's door, followed by a voice he doesn't recognize. "Hey Blainey, your booty call has arrived!"

Kurt frowns. "Who's that?"

"Oh, crap. That's just Sebastian," Blaine says with a laugh, "I forgot he was coming over. Wes must have let him in. I have to go, Kurt, but I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?"

"Oh, okay, sure," he says, still frowning.

"Love you," Blaine says, flashing him a quick smile.

"Love you, too."

Then the call disconnects, and Kurt is left staring at the blank screen and feeling a bit uneasy.

* * *

Kurt walks arm in arm with Rachel down the hallway of McKinley toward the choir room.

"And then Sebastian shows up, saying Blaine's _booty call_ has arrived, and then Blaine just cut our call off."

Rachel's eyes widen. "You don't think he actually...?"

" _No_ , god no, of course not. Blaine would never," Kurt says, shaking his head. "It was just... weird, I don't know."

"Well if I were you, I wouldn't let someone talk to my boyfriend like that," Rachel says, voice firm.

"I can't control how other people talk to him," Kurt argues.

"No but you can control who he talks to."

Kurt rolls his eyes. "No, Rachel, I can't do that."

"Your breakup," she says with a shrug as they enter the choir room and walk over to their seats.

"We're not _breaking up_."

"Who's breaking up?" Tina asks as they take their seats next to her.

"Nobody," Kurt says at the same time Rachel says, "Kurt and Blaine."

"We are _not_ ," Kurt says again.

"What's wrong?" Tina asks with a frown.

"Some hot new guy is trying to steal Blaine away," Rachel interjects before Kurt has a chance to explain.

"That's not– why do I even talk to you? Nobody is stealing Blaine. He just has a friend that is... I don't know, it's weird."

"I think you need to meet him," Rachel decides.

"He lives in New York."

"So? You haven't gone to visit Blaine in New York yet, right? Go! Spring break is coming up, spend the week there, meet his friends, make sure everyone knows he's yours."

"Rachel, you're being ridiculous," he says, but part of him doesn't hate the idea. It would be nice to spend a whole week visiting Blaine, and he has to admit he would feel a little better if he could meet Sebastian. He's been trying not to jump to any conclusions, he knows how frustrating that can be first hand, but he can't deny that it would ease his mind to meet this guy and get a real feel for him.

"A visit might actually be nice," Tina chimes in.

"Maybe," Kurt reasons, but he's already made the decision; he'll ask his dad tonight if he can make the trip.

Mr. Schue walks in then, standing at the front of the class as he starts to lecture them about the importance of friendship, or something, Kurt isn't really paying attention, just trying to figure out how he can convince his dad to let him fly to New York for a week.

* * *

They're sitting down to supper that night when he decides to ask.

"Hey, dad?"

"Yeah Kurt?" Burt asks, taking a bite of his baked chicken.

"I was wondering if I could go visit Blaine for spring break."

Burt glances over at Carole, who just shrugs, and the he looks back at Kurt.

"Actually, Carole and I were thinking of suggesting that."

"Really?" Kurt asks, putting his fork down on his plate.

"Yeah, you haven't been to New York to visit him yet. And it would be a good chance for you to get to know the city a bit, since you'll be moving there in the fall anyway."

"Yeah, okay. Thanks." That was a lot easier than he was expecting it to be.

* * *

"I can't wait for this week to be over," Blaine groans, "it's just so long. Man, I need a break."

"I have a surprise that might cheer you up," Kurt says with a smirk.

"Oh?" Blaine asks, perking up a little and raising his eyebrows.

"I'm coming to visit for spring break." He can't help but break into a smile.

"To New York?" Blaine asks hopefully.

"Yes. To New York," Kurt confirms.

"Oh my god, Kurt, that's great! I can't wait to show you all the little coffee shops, and we can walk around Central Park, and– oh! And I can show you the NYADA campus!" Blaine babbles excitedly.

"And maybe I can meet some of your friends, too? Get to know all the people you spend your time with," Kurt suggests cautiously.

"Yeah, I'd love for you to meet my friends," Blaine agrees. "Did you get your tickets yet?"

"Not yet, my dad is going to get them tomorrow. I wanted to check dates with you, see what works."

"Right, right. Um, well, the longer the better. I'm done class early on Friday, so maybe you can fly in Friday night and go back the next Saturday? I work a long shift on Sunday so it doesn't really make sense for you to be here Sunday. I have to work on Tuesday too, but Wes will be around so I'm sure you could hang out with him, or just go explore on your own, or even hang out at my work and see me in action," Blaine says with a wink.

"That sounds great," Kurt says with a smile. "I'll tell my dad."

"I can't wait to see you again," Blaine says with a smile. "I miss you."

"I miss you, too."


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have a nice, light, fluffy and smutty chapter. Our boys are reunited so of course there's going to be sex. For once though, I've included smut and not made it literally the entire chapter. I'd been starting to wonder if that was something I'm even capable of.

Blaine holds the apartment door open as Kurt walks through, towing his suitcase behind him. He stops just inside the door, surveying the apartment.

"So what do you think?" Blaine asks, coming up behind and wrapping his arms around Kurt's waist.

"I still can't really believe that you have your own apartment," Kurt says with a laugh.

Blaine laughs, too, warm and familiar and _Blaine_. "Would you like a tour?"

"I'd love a tour," Kurt says, looking back over his shoulder and smiling at Blaine.

"Okay! Well, this is the living room and kitchen. It's very open concept, which is definitely why I chose it, and had absolutely nothing to do with being one of the only affordable apartments that Wes and I could find," Blaine says seriously as he gestures around the room.

"Right, of course. Excellent taste," Kurt says back with a serious nod.

"On this side of the room, you'll see a door leading to an elegant bathroom, complete with a toilet, sink, and shower." Blaine leads Kurt across the room and stands to the side of the bathroom door, pushing it open so Kurt can see.

Kurt pokes his head through the door, taking in the small bathroom and he chuckles. "You know, there is something to say about simplicity, isn't there?"

"And if you'll follow me this way," Blaine continues, leading Kurt toward a short hallway with a door on each side, "you'll see Wes' bedroom, which I'm under strict instructions to not show you, and my bedroom." Blaine opens the door and motions for Kurt to enter.

"I'll take that," Blaine says, taking Kurt's suitcase as Kurt walks into the room then slowly makes his way around, taking in the small details that make it Blaine's: a desk with a pile of school books; a small bookcase with some of his favourite novels; a photo of the two of them from the past summer on Blaine's bedside table.

Kurt takes a seat on Blaine's bed and looks back at his boyfriend, who is still standing near the doorway smiling at him. "It's really great, Blaine," he says, dropping the mock seriousness of the tour.

"I'm glad you're here," Blaine says, moving across the room and taking a seat on the bed next to Kurt, placing a sweet, chaste kiss on Kurt's lips as he sits.

They sit there together on Blaine's bed for a few minutes, Kurt continuing to look around the room and take in more of the small details that Blaine has added. A photo with the Warblers after one of their competitions sits on top of the bookcase next to a photo of Blaine and Cooper.

"God, I'm hungry," Kurt says as a pang of hunger hits him; he'd barely eaten all day.

"Me too," Blaine agrees, turning to Kurt and kissing at his neck.

Kurt laughs lightly. "No, Blaine, really, I'm hungry."

"So am I," Blaine says, nibbling lightly at the skin now and moving a hand down to cup at Kurt's cock through his pants. Kurt shivers, lets out a surprised moan at the touch. What was he saying before?

"Missed you," Blaine murmurs into the skin of Kurt's neck, and then he's dropping down to his knees in front of Kurt, hands working at his belt.

"I missed you too," Kurt says breathlessly as he threads his fingers through Blaine's hair, breaking the gel's hold on the dark curls.

"Wanna taste you," Blaine says, finally pulling Kurt's belt open, then quickly unzipping his pants. Kurt lifts his hips off the bed and Blaine pulls them, along with his underwear, down to the floor, and Kurt's cock, quickly growing harder, rests against his thigh.

"Blaine," Kurt gasps as Blaine pushes his legs apart, places a small kiss on the inside of Kurt's thigh, wraps a hand around his now-hard cock.

"Yeah, love?" Blaine asks innocently, staring up at Kurt with honey-brown eyes under thick lashes.

"Fuck," Kurt breathes, tossing his head back as Blaine slowly strokes him.

Blaine chuckles darkly, then takes Kurt fully into his mouth, swallowing him back as far as he can take it.

" _Fuck!_ " Kurt is louder this time, but then claps his hand over his mouth in a sudden panic, trying to hold back his whimpers. "Wait, where- _oh_ , oh my god, Blaine, I- where's Wes?" He manages to stutter out.

Blaine pulls off with a loud pop, smiles up at Kurt. "He's gone for the night." Blaine holds Kurt's gaze as he slowly, teasingly traces his tongue over the head of Kurt's cock.

"Oh thank god," Kurt groans, and Blaine smirks as he takes just the tip of Kurt into his mouth and sucks lightly at it, sending a shiver through Kurt's body.

" _Please_ , Blaine," Kurt whimpers, tugging gently at the hair between his fingers.

Blaine obliges, sinking back down over Kurt as Kurt gasps and moans wantonly beneath his touch, one hand firm on Kurt's thigh and the other reaching down and gently fondling his balls. It doesn't take long before he feels the heaviness in his balls, feels the pleasure coming to a head.

"I'm close," he gasps out as Blaine bobs up and down on his knees.

Blaine slides off Kurt, wraps a hand around his cock and pumps quickly. "Come for me."

That does it. Blaine's voice low and raw, hand wrapped around Kurt, and he's spurting streaks of white into Blaine's mouth, but also across his face, in his hair, and it's dirty and messy but _fuck_ if it isn't hot, too.

As Kurt comes down from his orgasm, he releases Blaine's hair. "God, you're a mess," he says, voice full of awe as he thumbs some of his come off Blaine's cheek.

"I'm a mess," Blaine repeats in agreement, gently taking Kurt's hand and pulling Kurt's thumb into his mouth, licking it clean.

" _Fuck_ ," Kurt moans, how did he get so lucky to get a boyfriend _this hot_ , and he's sure his dick would be hard just from that visual if he hadn't just come... all over Blaine. That's _his_ come that Blaine is covered in, that Blaine is licking off his fingers now.

"Get up here. Now." He doesn't give Blaine a chance to follow through, just grabs him by the collar and hauls him up, pressing their lips together in a heated kiss, and oh god he can taste himself on Blaine's tongue and it should be gross but it's not, it's just hot, and he needs this, needs to taste Blaine right now.

"On your back." It comes out like an order, and he's pretty sure this is the most assertive he's ever been in the bedroom, but Blaine doesn't seem to mind, obeying instantly and laying back in the center of the bed. Kurt's hands are quick, fingers quickly undoing Blaine's belt, opening his pants, and pulling them down just far enough so that Blaine's cock springs free, thick and hard and dribbles of precome at the head. He doesn't tease, doesn't have it in him right now, just holds Blaine's hips down and takes Blaine fully into his mouth, and he feels Blaine's hips try to stutter up beneath his hands as he gasps.

" _Kurt_ ," Blaine whines, reaching a hand down and stroking over Kurt's cheek.

Kurt doesn't respond, or even pause, just sets a fast pace as he bobs up and down on Blaine's cock, Blaine writhing and moaning beneath him, and before long Blaine is coming, too, shooting straight down Kurt's throat as he moans Kurt's name.

Kurt strokes Blaine through the orgasm before crawling back up the bed and lying beside his boyfriend. They stare at each other for a few moments before Kurt finally speaks.

"You really are a mess."

Blaine chuckles lightly. "Yeah, I guess I am."

"You should go get a shower. I'll find something for us to eat while you're in there."

"Okay," Blaine agrees.

* * *

Kurt sits on the couch in the living room, snuggled into Blaine's side, with a box of Chinese take-out in his lap.

"This is the best Chinese food I've ever had," he says as he takes another piece of chicken into his mouth.

"The best thing about New York is the food," Wes says decidedly from his spot on the chair next to them.

"I don't think I'd agree with that," Blaine chimes in.

"The food is definitely not the best thing about New York," Kurt agrees.

"How would you know? You just got here, and we all know you didn't do much sight-seeing around the city last night," Wes says with a teasing wink, and Kurt feels his face flush hot.

Blaine rolls his eyes. "I'll have you know I plan on giving Kurt a wonderful tour of the city. But I hadn't seen my _boyfriend_ in over a month, so sue me for wanting to spend some alone time with him."

"Maybe I will someday," Wes shoots back with a grin before shoveling another forkful of rice into his mouth. "So, are you ready for a night out on the town tonight, Kurt?" Wes' mouth is still full of food, and normally that would be gross, but Wes is just kind of a dork and somehow Kurt doesn't mind it nearly as much as when Finn does it back home.

"Yeah, I guess so," he shrugs.

Kurt had told Blaine that he wanted to meet Sebastian, and Sebastian thought a fun way to meet Kurt and show him the city was to go out to a club. Blaine evidently agreed. Kurt isn't sure how he feels about it, but Blaine assured him that he and _Seb_ , as Blaine calls him, do this all the time, Sebastian can get a fake ID for Kurt, it will be fun. Kurt wants to meet Sebastian, and he wants to spend time with Blaine, and he doesn't want Blaine to think he's boring or no fun, so if this is what living in New York is about, well, he'll go. He's sure it will be fine; he'll be there with Blaine, after all.

"It'll be a blast," Wes says, setting his food down on the coffee table and standing up, walking past the boys on the couch and ruffling Blaine's hair in the process.

"Hey!" Blaine shouts after him, but Wes just laughs. "He's right though," Blaine says, looking back at Kurt as he tries to smooth his hair back down, "it will be fun. You'll have a great time, I promise. It's nothing like Lima. Seeing all these people that can just... be themselves. It's so great, Kurt, you don't even understand."

"I'm looking forward to it," Kurt says, offering Blaine a small smile.

"Water, anyone?" Wes asks from the where he stands in front of the open fridge.

"Sure," Blaine calls back.

"Yes, please," Kurt adds, then turns back to Blaine. "Who else is going tonight?"

"Amanda said she would come, and I think she's bringing Sarah. Amanda doesn't drink, but she wanted to meet you. That's probably it."

"That's sweet of her," Kurt says, smiling a little more easily now.

"Sarah's great, you'll love her," Wes says as he places three glasses of water on the coffee table and sits on the chair again. "If only she weren't gay...," he says wistfully.

Blaine rolls his eyes. "It's a good thing she is, I wouldn't wish you on anyone," he says with a laugh.

"Hey! I resent that remark," Wes frowns, reaching over and swatting at Blaine's arm.

"Are you guys like this all the time?" Kurt asks, raising an eyebrow at the other boys.

"Only when Blaine is rude," Wes says, "so, yes, all the time."

Blaine rolls his eyes at that. "I've never been rude in my life."

"Tell that to that guy on the subway the other day."

"I wasn't _rude_ , he was taking up an entire bench and that woman was pregnant! He shouldn't need someone else to tell him to move."

Kurt sits back and enjoys his supper as Blaine and Wes continue their banter, taking turns accusing the other of a variety of social faux-pas, but there's no heat behind any of the words. It reminds him of being at Dalton, when they first fell in love and everything felt easier.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the moment you've all been waiting for: Kurt meets Sebastian. Enjoy. :)

It doesn't take them long to make their way to the bar once they're ready, though they are running a bit late after Kurt decided Wes absolutely could not leave the apartment wearing whatever he had originally picked out, then spent twenty minutes going through his closet and looking for something acceptable. They'd finally made it out the door, and now Kurt and Blaine walk hand in hand down the sidewalk, Wes trailing just behind, as they approach some gay bar that Kurt has already forgotten the name of. It's freeing, being able to walk through the streets and hold his boyfriend's hand without having to worry so much if anybody sees them. He gives Blaine's hand a little squeeze and shoots him a warm smile, which Blaine returns quickly.

"Blainey! Where the hell have you been?" a voice calls out, and then a tall, lean boy with caramel brown hair steps toward them and wraps Blaine in a hug. Blaine pulls his hand from Kurt's and returns the hug.

"Sorry, we were about to leave but then Kurt decided we couldn't be seen with Wes unless he changed," Blaine shrugs and places a hand on the small of Kurt's back.

"Ah yes, the boyfriend," the boy, who must be Sebastian, says with a knowing nod, and god the tone in those four words has already put a bad taste in Kurt's mouth, but he tries to swallow it back; this is Blaine's friend, and if Blaine likes him, he can't be that bad. Kurt just needs to try to get along with him.

"Kurt, this is Sebastian," Blaine says as an introduction, "Seb, this is my boyfriend, Kurt."

"Pleasure," Kurt says, reaching out to shake Sebastian's hand.

"It sure is," Sebastian replies, shaking Kurt's hand, and is that a smirk on the other boy's face or is that just how he smiles? Either way, it's irritating, but he just bites the inside of his cheek and tries his best to smile at Blaine's friend. _Blaine's friend_ , he reminds himself.

"Well what are we waiting for?" Wes asks, coming up between Kurt and Blaine and clapping a hand on each of their shoulders. "Let's get in there!"

"Sounds good to me," Sebastian says with a wry smile, then turns to lead the group of them through the front door.

Kurt has no problem getting in with the fake ID Blaine had given him before they left; apparently Sebastian knows a guy. The bar is warm and loud and crowded, and the group of boys have to shoulder their way through the crowd, but eventually they make their way to a table and take a seat.

"I think I'll go get us some drinks," Blaine says as the other three boys sit down, "Kurt, do you want something?"

"No thanks," he says, and then Blaine is off; he must know Wes and Sebastian's usual drinks, Kurt supposes.

"Sober tonight?" Sebastian asks.

"I don't really drink," Kurt says with a shrug.

"Of course you don't," Sebastian says, and there's that _goddamn tone_ again.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm just not surprised. I got the feeling you were kinda uptight from everything Blaine has said," Sebastian replies, like it's obvious, and Kurt is both embarrassed and enraged at the comment. What has Blaine said? He's not uptight, is he?

"I'm not uptight," Kurt shoots back, because he's not really sure what else to say.

"Seb," Wes says warningly.

"Look, kid, the guy still loves you, I don't really get it, but he does. I'm just saying you could loosen up a bit sometimes, from the sounds of it. Don't get your panties in a twist over some constructive criticism."

Who in the ever-loving fuck does this guy think he is? "I didn't ask for your _constructive criticism_."

"Yeah, well, maybe you should have," Sebastian shoots back.

"I don't need advice from some pretentious prick"

"Really? Because from where I'm standing, it kinda looks like you do.

"Guys," Wes warns again. But they ignore him, again.

"I don't take pointers from overgrown rodents."

"Wow, Blaine made you sound so much nicer. If you're going to be two-faced, you should at least make sure one of them is pretty."

"You look like you came from a donation pile."

"You really do have an interesting idea of foreplay. I wonder what else Blaine isn't telling me about you," Sebastian says with a wink.

Kurt's cheeks blush red, but before he can respond Blaine comes up from behind, placing a water on the table for Kurt before handing each of the other boys a beer and taking a drink of his own. He's about to sit down when Sebastian stops him, standing. "Let's go dance!"

"Yeah, okay! Kurt?" Blaine asks, turning and looking at him.

Kurt smiles tightly. "I think I'll finish my water first."

"Oh alright, sure," Blaine says, then he's following behind Sebastian out onto the dance floor.

"He's mostly harmless," Wes offers after a couple minutes of sitting there in silence.

"He's mostly obnoxious," Kurt grumbles.

Wes laughs. "Yeah, a bit."

Kurt doesn't respond again, just sits there and watches Blaine and Sebastian dance. They're pressed close together, but so is everyone on the dance floor, so that doesn't really mean anything, right? He pushes the thoughts out of his head and looks around, taking in the other patrons. So many people, crowded onto the dance floor, moving against each other to the steady thump of the loud music as it fills the space. Nobody here cares what anyone thinks of them, nobody has to be scared to dance with the person they love here. And Blaine was right, it _is_ incredible. He's so used to feeling like the odd one out, the weird one, but here he almost feels like he belongs, and Kurt has never really, truly felt that. Even at Dalton, everyone accepted him there, sure, and they were all kind to him, but he didn't _fit in_ , not even there. Not like this.

He's pulled from his thoughts by a girl's voice. "Finally found yourself a boy, did you, Wesley? He's a cute one!"

Wes laughs easily. "Still straight, Amanda. This is Kurt, Blaine's boyfriend."

Kurt turns to see a pair of girls standing at their table, smiling back at him. The girl that spoke, Amanda, speaks again. "You're Kurt! I've heard so much about you! I'm Amanda, this is my girlfriend Sarah," she exclaims, sliding into the seat beside Kurt and wrapping an arm around his shoulders. Sarah slides into the chair next to Wes and rolls her eyes, but Amanda doesn't seem to notice.

"Look, you've got to answer a question for me," Amanda says, looking seriously at Kurt.

Well this is off to a weird start. What would this girl who he's just met possibly need to know? "Um... yeah, sure."

She leans in close to his ear, as though to whisper. "Blaine's hung, right? Like good? He must be." It's not a whisper at all. He blushes furiously, and he just hopes the club is dark enough that the others can't see as Wes bursts into laughter.

"Amanda, enough," Sarah says, swatting at her girlfriend across the table. "Sorry about her, she had a bit too much to drink before we left the apartment."

"Oh whatever. You're no fun. I'll find out someday," she says, then she's standing and pulling Kurt to his feet alongside her. "Why aren't we dancing? You're only in New York once!"

He's not sure where she got the idea that nobody can come back to New York, but he figures there's no point in arguing with her, so he just lets her pull him out onto the dance floor to Blaine and Sebastian, with Wes and Sarah following along behind them.

" _BLAINE!_ " she screams, tackling a surprised Blaine with a hug when they reach the pair on the dance floor.

"Amanda, hi!" Blaine says, hugging her back. "You've met Kurt?"

"You bet I have! And you left the poor boy all by himself, what kind of boyfriend are you?" she says, punching him in the arm playfully. "He wouldn't even tell me how big your dick is," she pouts.

Kurt flushes scarlet again.

"Oh it's big." Kurt's head whips around to look at Sebastian.

"You know? How? Did you see it?" Sarah asks, eyes wide and face awestruck.

"I have my ways," Sebastian says with a smirk, and he winks quickly again at Kurt, and _who the hell does this guy think he is_?

"Okay enough of that," Blaine says awkwardly, and it's dark but Kurt can tell that Blaine is at least as embarrassed as he is about the whole thing, so that makes him feel a little better. "I need at least two more drinks before I can even entertain this conversation."

"More drinks it is then!" Sebastian agrees. "Who's coming?"

"Me!" Amanda yells, and Kurt is starting to wonder if it's the alcohol or if she's just always excessively loud.

Kurt, Wes, and Sarah dance together, as they wait for the others to return. Eventually, they're back, new drinks in hand, and Kurt feels Blaine grinding into him from behind, a hand at his hip. He jumps a little, not expecting the contact, but then tries to settle into it, rocking back against Blaine, and he doesn't think he's doing it quite right, still feels a bit awkward and clumsy and he's never really been much of a dancer, or at least that's what everyone else has seemed to think about him, but he looks around and nobody seems to be paying him much attention so he tries to just enjoy himself and not care too much about it.

The night goes on and, somehow, Sebastian always ends up grinding against Blaine, too. Right now Blaine is facing Kurt, arms wrapping around Kurt's shoulders as they dance together, as Sebastian comes up behind Blaine and grips his hips, grinding forward. Blaine rests his head back on Sebastian's shoulder, and Kurt sees Sebastian whisper something into his ear then grind hard into Blaine's ass, in turn making Blaine's hips grind into Kurt's and Blaine lets out a breathy whimper. Sebastian winks at Kurt over Blaine's shoulder, and Kurt swears if this asshole winks at him one more time he's going to lose it.

He doesn't have long to dwell on that thought before he feels another, unfamiliar body pressing up behind him, a breathy "hey, baby," in his ear, a hand groping at his ass, and he squeals and whirls around to see a tall man with auburn hair looking back at him.

"That was- you- um," Kurt stutters out, flushing, not really sure what he's trying to say.

"Hey! Hands off m'boyfriend," Blaine says, words a bit slurred as he takes a step forward to stand next to Kurt.

The man looks down at Blaine and barks out a laugh. "I think he can speak for himself," the man says, reaching out and stroking a hand lightly over Kurt's cheek, "can't you, beautiful?"

"Don't touch him," Blaine says, voice raised, and he takes another step forward and shoves the man backward hard. He stumbles briefly before catching his footing, then narrows his eyes at Blaine.

"Or what?" the man asks with a smirk. A clear challenge.

"Blaine, it's fine, just forget it," Kurt whispers, tugging on Blaine's sleeve.

Blaine doesn't reply, just closes the distance between him and the man and punches him square in the jaw. It takes a brief moment until the man seems to have realized what just happened, but then he hauls off and punches Blaine right back.

"Blaine!" Kurt says, taking a step forward to reach out for his boyfriend, but then Blaine is jumping right back after the guy, and there are arms and fists flying everywhere. The crows splits, giving the pair more room as they wrestle each other to the ground, the bigger man pinning Blaine down and landing a few solid blows to his face before a couple bouncers makes their way through the crowd and haul the boys apart, pulling Blaine to his feet. Kurt rushes over, taking Blaine's face in his hands to try and get a better look at his injuries, but it's dark and he can't make out too much.

"He with you?" the bouncer, still supporting Blaine's weight, asks Kurt.

"Um, yes. He is."

"You better get him home. He's done here for the night."

Kurt nods dumbly. "Right, yeah. Okay."

The bouncer escorts them to the door, Wes following along, and then watches for a few moments to make sure they aren't trying to come back in before returning inside. Kurt wraps an arm around Blaine's waist, helping to keep him steady as they make their way slowly back to the apartment.

"You okay, Bee?" Kurt asks with concern; it's still hard to really see the extent of Blaine's injuries, he'll have to wait until they're back at the apartment before he can get a good look.

"M'fine," Blaine slurs, turning his head into Kurt's neck and kissing sloppily.

"Blaine, cut it out," Kurt scolds, shrugging his shoulder a bit to shake Blaine off, though there's no real heat behind the words.

"Where're we goin'?" Blaine asks, looking up at Kurt with wide eyes.

"Home, Blaine."

"Mmm, home," Blaine says, then stops where he is on the sidewalk, reaches a hand up and pulls Kurt's face down to his, planting a deep kiss on his lips.

Kurt pulls away after a moment, when his mind catches up and he finally registers what's happening. "Blaine, stop. Focus. We have to get you home."

"'Kay," Blaine agrees, then lets Kurt and Wes lead him stumbling the rest of the way to the apartment.

Between the two of them, Kurt and Wes manage to get Blaine into the apartment and seated on the toilet in the bathroom.

"He's bleeding. Do you have a first aid kit?" Kurt asks, finally getting a chance to inspect Blaine's face more closely and noticing some of the deeper cuts.

"Yeah, just under the sink," Wes says, pointing to the cupboard below the sink. Kurt opens the door and starts rooting through the things there, looking for the first aid kit, while Wes holds Blaine up so he doesn't fall over.

"Bee, as much as I love the valiant and protective boyfriend act, you can't be punching people," Kurt says softly as he places the kit on the floor then wets a wash cloth and dabs it gently on Blaine's face, cleaning up the blood.

"But he touched you," Blaine argues weakly, eyes closed as he lets Kurt clean him up.

Kurt sighs, but doesn't say anything else. Blaine isn't in a state to argue with right now anyway. Once he's cleaned up and Kurt has bandaged the couple of bigger cuts on Blaine's face, he helps Blaine to his feet and guides him to the bedroom, sitting him on the edge of the bed.

"You need to get some sleep," he says, crouching down and pulling Blaine's shoes off his feet.

"Mhmm," Blaine hums happily, eyes still closed.

Kurt pushes the shoes aside, then stands up and tugs at the hem of Blaine's shirt. "Arms up.  
Blaine lifts his arms, and Kurt pulls the shirt over his head, then walks across the room to place it in the laundry bin before coming back over to Blaine. He reaches down for Blaine's belt, undoing the buckle, and then Blaine is gripping the collar of his shirt, falling back onto the bed and pulling Kurt down on top of him, pressing their lips together in a kiss that tastes faintly of blood but mostly of booze. Kurt pushes back against Blaine, breaking the kiss.

"Blaine, stop, you're drunk."

Blaine just tugs at Kurt again, this time bringing his lips to Kurt's neck and sucking at the skin there.

"Blaine, _stop_ ," Kurt says, more forcefully this time, then rolls himself off of Blaine.

Blaine stays where he is, laying on the bed with his eyes closed, as Kurt strips him down to his boxers then lays a blanket over him.

"Try to get some sleep," Kurt says with a sigh. Blaine doesn't reply, but his breathing has already levelled out, and Kurt is pretty sure he's already asleep.

Kurt heads back out to the kitchen area where Wes is pouring a few glasses of water. He hands one to Kurt, who accepts it and takes a sip as he leans back against the counter.

"Sorry about that. It's not usually that... eventful," Wes says.

Kurt looks up at the ceiling. "It's fine."

They stand there in silence for a few minutes, drinking their water.

"Is Sebastian always that intolerable?" Kurt asks, looking at Wes.

Wes snorts. "Sebastian is... he's a different one. He can be an ass, for sure, but he isn't usually an ass to Blaine, or me, so I let it slide for Blaine's sake."

"I really don't see how they're friends. He's _insufferable_."

Wes laughs again. "I don't really see it either. I've known Blaine for a long time though, and... sometimes he can be a bit oblivious. I think maybe he just doesn't see it."

Kurt sighs. "Yeah, I guess."


	14. Chapter 14

Kurt and Blaine sit across from each other at a small café the next morning, waiting for their breakfast to arrive.

"Sorry about last night," Blaine says, fiddling with the cup of coffee in his hands.

"It's fine," Kurt says dismissively.

They sit in silence a few moments longer before Blaine speaks again.

"Is it?"

Kurt sighs. "I'm not... mad. It's just– no, it's fine, I don't want to start a fight with you."

"Kurt," Blaine says, reaching his hand across the table and holding it out for Kurt, "you need to talk to me."

Kurt sighs, takes Blaine's hand. "It's Sebastian."

Blaine shifts a little in his seat, furrows his brow. "Oh. I thought... I thought you were mad about the fight."

Kurt smirks a little. "I'm not _thrilled_ that you got in a brawl in the middle of the dance floor, and you are _never_ doing it again, but... no, I'm not mad about that. It was kind of sweet, in a weird way."

"Oh," Blaine says dumbly, then after a few beats, "so... why are you mad?"

"I'm not _mad_ , not at you, I just... I don't think he likes me," Kurt says. It feels like it's so much more than that, but he's not quite sure how to put it into words to explain it to Blaine.

Blaine tilts his head to the side. "I'm sure that's not true. Who wouldn't like you?"

Kurt rolls his eyes, gives Blaine a look. "Lots of people don't like me, Blaine. Have you _been_ to Ohio?"

Blaine has the decency to look a little embarrassed. "Right. Sorry. But, I mean, that's different. Seb isn't like that."

"No, most people that hate me aren't trying to steal my boyfriend." He doesn't mean to say it, at least not like that, it just slips out, and by the look on Blaine's face there's no chance he _didn't_ hear it.

"Small stack of pancakes for you, and an omelette for you, sir. Enjoy your breakfast!" the waitress says cheerily, placing a plate in front of each of them before heading over to another table to check in.

Blaine pulls his hand back across the table and stares at Kurt. "Seb is not... is that really what you think? Kurt, we have been over this."

"Yeah, and I believed you until I _met him_. Blaine, he was all over you last night, and he was making a point to make sure I saw it. And you didn't hear what he said to me when you went to get drinks."

"He was just fooling around," Blaine argues, trying to brush it off, "it doesn't _mean_ anything. Don't be such a hypocrite, Kurt, you can't tell me Chandler means nothing and then come back and be mad at me for hanging out with Sebastian."

"Oh my god, Blaine, that is not the same thing _at all_."

"You are reading into this way too much, Kurt. Or maybe you're seeing things that aren't there because you feel guilty?"

Kurt's jaw drops at the accusation. " _Blaine_. You know I would _never_ –"

"No, actually, I don't," Blaine says, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Blaine, I am here visiting you in New York for a week. You think I'd be here if I was cheating on you?"

Blaine doesn't answer.

"Look, this is not– I don't want to fight with you about this. I'm not telling you that you can't be friends with him, I just– can we drop it? Please? I don't want to fight all week."

Blaine stares back for a few moments through narrowed eyes, but then his face softens. "Okay, fine."

The rest of breakfast is a little awkward, but by the end they manage to shake the weird cloud hanging over them, and they're mostly back to normal, teasing each other playfully, and Blaine even feeds Kurt a piece of his pancake, smudging some whipped cream on his nose and making him giggle. It really isn't a big deal. Just because Sebastian is the possibly the most irritating person Kurt has ever met doesn't mean anything is going to happen. Kurt trusts Blaine.

* * *

Kurt and Wes sit in the living room Tuesday evening. Blaine is gone to work for the night, so it's just the two of them for the next several hours.

"What do you want to do?" Wes asks from his usual spot on the chair.

"I don't know, what is there to do?" Kurt asks, propping himself up on the couch and looking at Wes.

"We could play Jenga."

Kurt snorts at the suggestions. "Jenga?"

"Hey, Jenga is a very challenging game of skill. You're just scared I'll beat you."

Kurt sits up fully. "I am not."

"Oh yeah? Well then, prove it," Wes says with a smirk.

"Fine," Kurt says, a small smile on his face, "let's play."

" _Yes_!" Wes cheers, standing up and walking to a small closet where he roots around for a few minutes before returning with the Jenga game. "Blaine never plays with me because I always kick his ass and he's a sore loser."

"Well, get ready for that streak to be broken," Kurt replies, watching as Wes sets up the tower on the coffee table in front of them.

"Cocky, aren't you?" Wes teases as he straightens the tower before finally pulling his hands away.

"I like to think of it more as confidence," Kurt quips back.

"Right, well, we'll see how long that lasts. Guests first?" Wes gestures to the tower.

Kurt pokes around at some of the blocks before he finds a loose one, sliding it out easily and placing it on top of the tower, then gesturing for Wes to take his turn.

Wes' turn is much faster; he finds a loose block almost instantly, pulling it from the tower and smirking as he places it on the top next to Kurt's.

"You think showing off is going to intimidate me?" Kurt asks with a smirk of his own as he starts poking around, looking for another loose block.

"You think this is showing off? Just you wait," Wes teases back as Kurt slowly pulls another block from the tower.

"I'm shaking in my Doc Martens," Kurt replies with an eye roll as he places the block on top of the tower.

"You should be careful about that, you need a steady hand if you want to be any sort of competition for me," Wes says, giving him a wide grin before easily pulling out another block and adding it to the top of the stack.

"I think I can handle you."

"We'll see about that," Wes smirks, watching as Kurt slowly searches for another block to pull from the tower.

"You know, _you're_ awfully cocky," Kurt says, giving Wes a pointed look after pulling his selected block from its place and holding it between his fingers.

"It's well earned, I assure you."

"You really haven't changed a bit since Dalton," Kurt says with a laugh.

"Well you know what they say, if it's already perfect then don't fix it."

Kurt snorts. "I don't think that's the expression, Wes."

"Well, it should be."

They're silent for a few minutes as they continue the game, slowly stacking the tower higher and higher.

"Are you enjoying your week so far?" Wes asks as he adds another block to the top.

"Yeah, New York is great."

"And Blaine is alright too, I guess," Wes teases.

"Hey, that's not what I meant," Kurt says, a little panicky, eyes wide.

"Hey, relax, I'm kidding."

"Yeah, right," Kurt says, trying to brush it off and looking back to the Jenga tower on the table in front of them.

"Is everything okay?"

"What? Yeah, everything's fine," Kurt says dismissively, pulling a block from the tower and making it wobble slightly, but it stays upright.

They play in silence a while longer.

"I think we need some music," Wes decides, standing quickly and heading for his bedroom.

"Hey! You almost made me knock the tower over!" Kurt shouts after him in annoyance.

"Not my problem!" Wes calls back in a cheery tone from his room.

Kurt rolls his eyes and goes back to the tower. It's getting harder now, none of the blocks seem to be coming out very easily; even Wes has been having a harder time of it.

Wes returns a moment later, iPod in hand, and plugs it into the docking station. "Any requests?"

" Lady Gaga?" Kurt asks.

Now it's Wes' turn to roll his eyes, but he complies, and a few seconds later _You and I_ is playing through the speakers.

Kurt raises an eyebrow at Wes. "I was expecting more of an objection."

"Well, it's not Katy Perry or P!nk. I know when to pick my battles," Wes replies as he takes his seat on the couch next to Kurt, a bit more gently so as not to jostle the tower on the table.

"Fair enough," Kurt says with a laugh, "but I happen to like Katy Perry, too."

"That's only because we serenaded you with Teenage Dream that day you showed up to spy on us at Dalton, setting into motion the epic romance that is Klaine."

Kurt snorts at that. "What? _Klaine_?"

"Kurt and Blaine," Wes says, like it's obvious. "It's your couple name."

Kurt rolls his eyes. "I don't think anyone has ever said that."

"I did, just now. So you're wrong."

"Whatever, Wes," Kurt says, but he can't help but smile a little. Somehow Wes manages to make being annoying an endearing trait, and he still hasn't been able to figure out how.

"Yes!" Wes cheers out as Kurt tugs on a block, and the tower comes crashing down on the table.

"Hey, that was totally not fair. You distracted me."

"Distracted you? How?" Wes asks with an amused grin.

"You were being... annoying." He knows it's not really an excuse.

"Well, we can play another game, if you want. I don't mind beating you twice."

"You're on. But don't think you're winning this time," Kurt says, and he can't help but smirk back at the other boy.

"We'll see about that," Wes says with a playful wink.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little more fluff and smut while Kurt is still in NY :)

"Have a fun night, boys," Wes says with a wink before pulling the door closed behind him as he leaves.

Kurt blushes lightly and Blaine rolls his eyes. Kurt isn't sure if he'll ever quite get used to comments like that.

"Have a seat," Blaine says, pulling out a chair at the small kitchen table and gesturing for Kurt to sit.

Kurt smiles warmly at his boyfriend, places a sweet kiss on Blaine's cheek, then takes a seat in the offered chair. "What's on the menu tonight, chef?"

"This evening we will be serving salmon with a side of grilled asparagus, spinach salad, and roasted potatoes, followed by a New York cheesecake with caramel sauce for dessert," Blaine explains as he lights the candles he'd set out earlier on the table.

"Sounds very fancy."

"Only the best for you, love." Blaine walks over to the fridge, then returns with the salad bowl and places it on the table, then makes a few more trips for the rest of their dinner before taking his seat opposite Kurt.

Kurt fills his plate, watches as Blaine does the same, then they settle into their chairs and begin eating.

"This is delicious, Blaine. And beautiful."

"Just like you."

Kurt rolls his eyes fondly. "You're such a dork."

"And you love it," Blaine says with a smirk.

"I do," Kurt says, smiling back at Blaine warmly. _This_ is what they're supposed to be. Not the fighting that was going happening on the weekend, not the slight awkward tension that had been hanging in the air between them since then. This is them, and Kurt is just relieved that things are starting to feel right again.

"Are you looking forward to The Lion King?" Blaine asks as he cuts off a piece of fish and arranges it on his fork.

"I'm just excited to finally see a Broadway show," Kurt says excitedly. "I mean, it's just going to be... magical. I can't wait."

"You're going to love it," Blaine says with a smile. "Seb and I saw Chicago a while ago, his family got us tickets, it was amazing."

"Right. I'm sure it was," Kurt says, a little awkwardly, taking a bite of potato and chewing slowly. He'd really rather not talk about Sebastian tonight.

Blaine seems to pick up on the awkward tension, luckily, and changes the subject, something about a nearby museum that he'd like to take Kurt to the next day. They chat happily through the rest of dinner, and thankfully Blaine doesn't bring Sebastian up any more.

"Dessert?" Blaine asks, sliding a slice of cheesecake onto a plate and handing it to Kurt.

"I thought you'd never ask," Kurt replies, taking the offered plate. "Did you make this?"

Blaine laughs. "No, I wish. It's from this great little bakery nearby. You'd love it."

Kurt takes a bit of the cheesecake, savouring it in his mouth before swallowing. "You're right, I do love it. This is possibly the best cheesecake I've ever eaten."

"See? What did I tell you?" Blaine says with a grin.

"I didn't argue with you!" Kurt laughs.

It's not long before both of their plates are cleared, and they've finished putting away the leftovers and tidying the kitchen.

"What do you have planned for the rest of the night, mister hopeless romantic?" Kurt teases.

"Well, I thought we could have a relaxing evening in bed and watch a nice movie," Blaine says, taking Kurt's hand and leading him toward his bedroom. "Or, maybe, not watch a movie," he adds, pushing Kurt down onto the bed and climbing on top of him, sealing their lips together in a quick kiss before pulling back and staring down into Kurt's eyes.

"Hmm," Kurt hums, as though pondering the idea, "I like or not." The corner of his mouth twitches up in a smile.

"I thought you might," Blaine says with a smirk.

Blaine leans down again and melds his lips to Kurt's, hot and dirty, lips and tongues and teeth. Kurt pulls away for a breath, and Blaine takes the opportunity to attach himself to Kurt's neck, sucking and biting and Kurt lets out a breathy, surprised moan because usually they move a bit slower, don't go this fast from kissing to exploring the other parts of each other's bodies. Not that he's complaining, of course. This feels _good_. He threads his fingers loosely into Blaine's hair, grips the sheets with his other hand as Blaine rolls his hips down into Kurt and Kurt arches up to meet him.

"Blaine," he whimpers as Blaine pops open the first few buttons of Kurt's shirt and sucks at his collarbone.

"You're wearing too many clothes," Blaine murmurs into his skin as he continues unbuttoning the shirt, and Kurt lets out a breathy laugh.

When Blaine has finished with the final button, he shifts off Kurt so he can sit up and slide out of his shirt. Once the shirt has been discarded somewhere off to the side that Kurt doesn't really care about, he grabs Blaine's collar and pulls the other boy toward him, joining their lips in a heated kiss before he pulls back ever so slightly, a smirk pulling at his lips as he whispers, "You're wearing too many clothes, too."

Blaine tugs his polo over his head and tosses it aside, and then Kurt is pushing Blaine down onto the bed, climbing on top. Blaine reaches behind and grips Kurt's ass, pulling Kurt's hips forward into his and Kurt moans into the skin of Blaine's neck at the friction between them. Kurt moves down Blaine's body, tracing down Blaine's neck and chest with kisses, Blaine squirming and gasping beneath him as he swirls his tongue around a nipple before sucking it into his mouth and biting gently.

" _Fuck_ ," Blaine groans, head pushing back into his pillow as he arches into Kurt's mouth, exposing the column of his neck.

"Blaine?" Kurt murmurs, looking up under his eyelashes at the beautiful boy beneath him.

"Yeah?" Blaine breathes, glancing down at his boyfriend, Kurt's lips still pressed to his chest.

"I was thinking," Kurt starts, and he has been thinking, at first it didn't really cross his mind but the more and more that they do _this_ , the more he wonders what it would be like. He likes what they do together, of course he does, it's not about that. But he can't help but wonder. Wonder what it might be like to do _that_ to Blaine. To slide his fingers into Blaine, work him slowly open, slide _himself_ into Blaine, and they've never really talked about it, and he's not really sure _how_ to talk about it, but he just wants to _know_ and he doesn't have a chance like this very often anymore so why not now?

He continues. "Maybe we could, um... maybe _I_ could... you know, do _that_."

Blaine props himself up a little, looks down at Kurt with a confused expression. "Do what?"

Kurt swallows, but he's started this conversation so they might as well have it, and since when isn't he comfortable talking to Blaine about sex anymore anyway? "Be on top?" he asks, voice still unsure.

Blaine gives him a funny look, still confused. "You've been on top before."

"No, I don't mean that, I mean... can I fuck you?" the words sound crude on his tongue, but he's not really sure how to say it otherwise without being overly clinical, and that's decidedly _not_ sexy, so this is the best he's going to get.

Blaine's brow furrows, and he sits up farther. "But we... do you not like what we do?"

"No, no, that's not it. Not at all, Bee, you know I do. Of course I do. I just wonder why we've never... you know. Changed it up," Kurt says, rolling off to let Blaine sit up and shrugging his shoulders. "I just wanted to try it."

"Kurt, I... I don't know."

"We don't have to, if you're not comfortable, I just... we've never really talked about it, and I... want to."

Blaine looks at him for a moment, carefully examining his face, before he responds. "I like what we do," Blaine says, cupping Kurt's cheek with his hand, "I like what _I_ do to _you_ , I don't really see why we need to change that."

Kurt stares back at Blaine as Blaine rubs his thumb in soft, slow circles on his cheek. "I like it too. I don't want to change it, I just thought maybe we could... try."

Blaine frowns slightly, the slight curve of his lips almost undetectable except that Kurt has spent so much time looking at those lips. "If you're not happy with what we're doing, you should have talked to me about it, Kurt."

"No, that's not it at all, it's not... Just never mind," Kurt says.

"Is everything okay?" Blaine asks, stopping his thumb and just cupping Kurt's cheek in his hand.

"Yeah. Everything's fine," Kurt says with a small nod.

"Okay," Blaine says, lips curving up into a small smile again. "Can I... think about it?"

"Yeah. Yes. Of course, that's... that's fine."

"Okay. I'll think about it."

"Thank you," Kurt says, then he smirks a little at Blaine. "Can I ask you something else?"

Blaine cocks his head to the side a little, looking mildly confused again. "Sure."

"Will you kiss me?" Kurt asks.

"I'd love to," Blaine says, a wide smile replacing the confused expression on his face, and then he leans in and plants a sweet kiss to Kurt's lips, then pulls back, rests his forehead against Kurt's. "I want you to ride me," Blaine breathes, then presses their lips together again briefly, "now all I can think about is you on top of me."

Kurt smiles. "I'd like that, too."

Kurt stands, unbuckles his belt and slides it slowly out through the loops of his pants. Blaine watches him, eyes dark as he palms himself through his jeans. Kurt smirks at Blaine as he slowly pops the button, unzips his own pants, slides them down over his hips and his hard cock springs out.

"Fuck," Blaine breathes, palming himself harder, "you're not wearing anything underneath them."

"Surprise," Kurt says with a wry smile. Once upon a time the mere thought of trying to be sexy made him squirm and blush; it's not something he ever associated with himself. And he's not overly experienced or knowledgeable by any means, but he _does_ know what his body does to Blaine, and sometimes he likes to take advantage of that. It feels nice, knowing he can get a reaction from Blaine, and his boyfriend certainly never seems to mind.

Kurt slides out of his pants, leaves them in a pile on the floor as he climbs back onto the bed and Blaine reaches into the side table to pull out the bottle of lube he keeps there. Blaine pulls Kurt down on top of him, reaching behind and grabbing a handful of Kurt's ass, kneading at as he grinds his hips up into Kurt's and Kurt moans into the kiss. Blaine's hands are gone for a moment, then they're back, one hand spreading his ass open as a slick finger traces around his opening. A shiver wracks through Kurt's body at the warm, gentle touches, and he feels Blaine's smile through the kiss. Blaine pushes in slowly, breaching the tight ring of muscle, and Kurt whimpers as the finger slips deeper inside him. Blaine works his finger in and out, thrusting gently inside Kurt, then sliding another finger in with his first. He pushes them in deep, crooks his fingers and presses _there right there_ and Kurt moans, loader than he means to but it just feels so good he can't stop himself and he can't be bothered to care.

"You like that?" Blaine asks, pulling his mouth from Kurt's and sucking at a spot on his neck.

"Yeah, I- _ohmygod_ ," Kurt gasps as Blaine strokes over the spot again, and Blaine chuckles darkly.

Blaine continues stretching him open, mouthing at his neck, as Kurt pants and moans and whines until, finally, Blaine breathes in his ear, "Are you ready for me, love?"

"Yes, please," he says, voice a little more desperate than he wants it to be, but he's been rocking back and forth, into Blaine's hips and back onto his fingers, and it's hard to not be desperate for it after that.

Kurt kisses Blaine again, quick and dirty, before he sits up, and Blaine reaches for a condom in the bedside table and hands it to him. Kurt leans down, licks a stripe up the underside of Blaine's hard cock, looking up at Blaine from under his eyelashes and Blaine shudders, then rolls the condom down onto Blaine; as fun as it is to tease, he wants Blaine inside him _now_. He moves up, straddles Blaine's hips, slowly guides Blaine's cock inside him, sinking down slowly and biting his lip as he feels it stretch him open.

"Fuck," Blaine murmurs, breathless, eyes blown wide as he watches Kurt above him. It's one of Kurt's favourite sounds, Blaine needy, just as desperate as he is, wanting him.

Kurt settles, thighs spread and ass full, adjusting to the stretch. Blaine's hands reach up, stroke across his chest, settle at his hips, and Blaine rolls his hips up, pushing against Kurt's prostate and drawing a gasp from his lips. Kurt leans back, steadying himself with a hand on each of Blaine's thighs before rising up slowly then dropping back down, and both boys moan at the friction. Kurt lifts again, presses back down onto Blaine, up and down, Blaine's hands on his hips pulling him down, Blaine's hips thrusting back up into him.

"Kurt, _Kurt_ , I- I'm gonna," Blaine starts, then throws his head back, and Kurt feels Blaine's grip tighten, imagines the finger-sized bruises they'll leave on his skin as Blaine's hips stutter out his orgasm.

Kurt works him through it, slowing as Blaine comes down from it, until Blaine squirms a little from the oversensitivity and then pulls off Blaine. Blaine flips them over, pushes Kurt into the bed, seals their lips together in a searing kiss.

"You're amazing," Blaine murmurs, brushing his lips across Kurt's and then down his neck, chest, stomach, ghosting breaths and sweet, gentle kisses as he makes his way to Kurt's hips, kissing one of the faint red marks Blaine's fingers left there, "so amazing."

Blaine wraps a hand around Kurt's cock, hard and leaking precome, and Kurt's hips buck up automatically at the contact.

"Gonna take care of you," Blaine murmurs into his skin as he begins to stroke, slow and teasing, and Kurt writhes beneath him. Blaine brings his lips to the head, places a gentle kiss, traces the tip of his tongue along the slit and Kurt whimpers. He runs the flat of his tongue up the side of Kurt's cock, then sinks his mouth around it, taking Kurt fully inside the warm wetness, and Kurt's hips try to thrust into it but Blaine holds them down and he sinks onto Kurt, then pulls back up and sucks and Kurt moans loud, so loud, as Blaine sets a fast pace and it's not long before Kurt is coming into Blaine's hot mouth. Blaine swallows it, works him through it with his hand and lips and tongue, pulling off Kurt as he lays, limp and spent, on his back on the bed. Blaine crawls back up, lays beside him, and Kurt turns his head to look into Blaine's sparkling honey-brown eyes.

"Love you," Blaine whispers, leaning in and pressing a kiss to Kurt's lips, and Kurt tastes himself there.

"Love you too."

Kurt rolls to his side, pushes back, and Blaine wraps an arm around as he settles his into Blaine's chest.

"We can still watch a movie if you want," Blaine murmurs into Kurt's hair.

"Maybe later," Kurt says, snuggling further into Blaine's arms.

"Maybe later," Blaine agrees.


	16. Chapter 16

"It's still wrong," Kurt says, pacing back and forth on the stage, cape flowing out behind him.

"I thought it was fantastic," Chandler says from his seat in the audience.

"It's just not... it's missing something. I don't know."

"Like what?" Chandler asks.

"I don't know." Kurt stops pacing and sighs, looking around at the prop-filled stage. "Is it too much? I think it's too much."

Chandler doesn't say anything, just watches as Kurt walks around the stage again. It's one of the things he appreciates most about the other boy; Chandler sure can talk when he wants to, but he's also a great listener, and he always seems to know when Kurt needs feedback, and when Kurt just needs a sounding board for his ideas.

"I think it's the song," Kurt decides. "It's too overdone. I need something different. With more energy."

"Didn't you choose this because you know it by heart?" Chandler isn't incredulous, just curious.

"Yes, but I think that's the problem. I'm too comfortable with it. I need to step out of my comfort zone, do something... I wouldn't normally do."

"Are you sure you should switch your song? Your audition is coming up really soon."

Kurt hops down off the stage, takes a seat next to Chandler in the audience, but keeps his eyes trained on the stage as he speaks. "I'm sure. Anyone can do Phantom. But I need to show Carmen Tibideaux that I'm not just _anyone_. I'm not just some boy next door type, I'm– wait, that's it."

It's perfect. It's not a song he would ever think to choose for himself, but that's _why_ it's perfect. It's high energy and not overdone and it's _perfect_.

"What's it?" Chandler asks, confused as Kurt springs to his feet.

"Not the boy next door. That's the song," Kurt turns to look down at Chandler excitedly, "I need gold lamé. Come on."

As he races out of the auditorium and to the parking lot, Chandler trailing behind him, he makes a list in his head of all the things he needs to get ready for his audition next week. He needs to make the pants, but he can pick away at those in the evenings at home. He'll wear a simple black dress shirt; the pants will be flashy enough. Then it's rehearsing the routine. It's not _too_ complicated, and if he spends the weekend practicing, he's pretty sure he can get it. He'll ask Mercedes, Tina, and Brittany to dance back-up for him, he's sure they'll say yes, and he'll have to get the sheet music for Brad – they should stop at the sheet music store after their trip to the fabric store.

* * *

It's been a whirlwind of a week. He's been working from the moment he wakes up to the moment his head hits the pillow at night. He hasn't even talked to Blaine beyond a few texts; thankfully Blaine has been understanding, he's auditioned for NYADA, he knows how stressful it is. And Sam agreed to video call him so he could watch Kurt's audition. He honestly can't wait for the audition to be over, so he can take a moment to breathe and _relax_. But now isn't the time for thinking about relaxing. Now is the time for thinking about performing. And he's ready.

"Kurt Hummel," Carmen Tibideaux's voice rings out across the auditorium.

He hadn't told Rachel about his last-minute song change; he knew she would just try to talk him out of it. He loves Rachel, but he also knows that he needs to do this, and he was already pressed for time enough without having to take any extra time to try explaining to her why this was the right decision for him. He takes in a deep breath, and then walks onto the stage, dressed in the full outfit for his original song selection.

"Hello, I'm Kurt Hummel, and I'll be performing Music of The Night from the seminal Phantom of the Opera by Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber."

He pauses for a moment, watches as the Dean of Vocal Performance and Song Interpretation writes a note on her paper, looking thoroughly unimpressed, and he knows that even if she doesn't like his new selection, he at least made the right decision to switch things up.

"... Which I bet you hear a lot of. That song."

"That, The Impossible Dream from Man of La Mancha, and Being Alive from Company, yes" she responds, sounding bored.

"It's a safe and standard choice. Which is why I've decided to change things up a bit. Here, in the eleventh hour, I have decided to go in a different direction. Something that's a little out there, but much more me. Not The Boy Next Door from the Peter Allen bio-musical The Boy From Oz."

He can't read her expression now, but she doesn't look _un_ impressed, and that he can work with. He turns, making his way to his starting position on the stage. "Ladies?" he calls as he turns to face the audience again, and Mercedes, Brittany, and Tina walk out on stage to his left.

He forces himself to keep his eyes off his friends, off even Madame Tibideaux, as Brad and the band play the first few notes of the song. And then he's singing and dancing, running around the stage and with each step he feels even more certain that, yes, this was the right decision. He swears he even sees the hint of a smile on Madame Tibideaux's face as he pulls out of one of his spins. He ends with a high note, front and center, arms reaching for the sky, and stands, catching his breath as he waits to hear what the woman who came all the way from New York has to say.

"You know, Hugh Jackman won a Tony award for playing Peter Allen."

He nods his head quickly, eyes wide, not sure where she's going with this.

"Hugh trained with me the summer I was in residence at the Sydney Opera House. And I am certain he would have been as impressed with what you did with that song as I am. A bold choice young man. I congratulate you for taking such a risk today."

"Thank you," he says, breathless, unable to stop the smile spreading across his face because _holy shit did Carmen Tibideaux really just say that to him_? He skips off the stage, another quick "thank you" to the Dean as he goes, then does a quick little dance to himself as soon as he's out of sight. He takes in a calming breath, pulls himself together, and then makes his way out to the audience to watch Rachel's audition.

* * *

"You were so great" Blaine says through the screen that evening as they, finally, get a chance to talk.

"Thank you! I wasn't sure if I picked the right song. I mean, I knew I did the right thing switching songs, you couldn't see her face but the second I said I was doing Phantom she was _not_ impressed, but it just- I can't believe how well it went." He's speaking so fast, the smile from earlier in the day plastering itself across his face again as he remembers Madame Tibideaux's words.

"Yeah, I... didn't know you decided not to go with Music of the Night. When did that change?"

"Oh," Kurt says, smile fading but only slightly, "I must have forgotten to tell you. Just last week, I was so busy trying to get everything ready in time, I must have forgotten."

"Oh, that's why you were so busy," Blaine says, and he sounds a little... annoyed? Kurt furrow his brow.

"Yeah. I had a lot to do. Chandler was helping me, thank god, because lord knows I couldn't tell Rachel I switched songs the week before, and–"

"Of course he knew," Blaine mutters, scoffing and rolling his eyes.

"Excuse me?" Kurt asks, narrowing his eyes slightly at Blaine. The smile has been completely wiped from his face.

"I'm just sick of him knowing everything before I do."

"He was with me when I had the idea. What do you want me to do, not have ideas unless I'm alone or in the middle of a conversation with you?"

"No, see, there it is again. You're always with him. Why? You have other friends, Kurt, can't they help you with this stuff?"

"Yes," he says slowly, trying to calm himself down before he explodes at Blaine because this is _ridiculous_ and he cannot believe they are _still_ fighting about this, "and they _do_ help me. I'm allowed to have multiple friends, Blaine, and I'm allowed to spend time with them."

"That's not my point and you know it. Don't be so fucking obtuse, Kurt. You can't just replace me with the first gay guy you meet!"

"Well maybe if you didn't move away to New York and leave me here I wouldn't have to!" He knows it's a mistake as soon as the words pass his lips, but it's too late. He doesn't even mean them, he's not replacing Blaine, Chandler could never replace Blaine, but he can't take them back now. He stares at Blaine for what feels like forever, eyes wide as he takes in his boyfriend's expression, tight-lipped and eyes narrowed.

"Blaine, I'm sorry, I didn't-," he stammers, but Blaine cuts him off.

"No, that's it. I'm done."

"Blaine, no, wait, Blaine I'm-," but then Blaine's face disappears, and Kurt is left staring at the blank screen. _Shit_.

He presses the call button next to Blaine's name. It rings several times, but Blaine doesn't answer. He gets up, walks to his desk where his phone is charging, and taps out a text.

_Blaine, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it. Call me back._

He hits send, stares at his phone for a few minutes, willing Blaine to answer, but nothing happens.

_ Please. _

He waits a few more minutes.

_I love you._

He falls asleep that night with his phone on his pillow, waiting for a text or a call that never comes.

* * *

It's a few days before Kurt's phone rings, finally, and Blaine's name flashes across the screen. He's never hit _answer_ faster in his life.

"Blaine, I am _so_ sorry, I didn't mean it, I swear, I could never replace you, god, Blaine, I-"

"I know," Blaine interrupts, voice calm. "I know you didn't mean... I know."

"I'm sorry," Kurt breathes.

"It's... it's okay. Kurt, I..." Blaine starts, but then he trails off.

"What?"

"It's just, um... I'm sorry for hanging up on you, and... ignoring you. I shouldn't have done that."

Kurt lets out a watery laugh, which is ridiculous because this isn't funny, but he's just so relieved to hear Blaine's voice again and to know that Blaine isn't _mad_. "No, you... I was out of line. I probably deserved it."

"You were, but I just– I could have handled it better."

They're silent for a few moments, the only thing Kurt can hear is Blaine's breathing in his ear, and it's soothing, comforting, like raindrops falling on a tin roof, waves crashing on a sandy shore, Blaine's warm arms wrapped around him, holding him and whispering in his ear that he's never letting Kurt go.

"I missed you," Kurt whispers into the phone.

"I missed you, too," Blaine replies quietly.

"Can we agree to never not talk again?" Kurt asks.

"Yeah. I think we can agree to that."

From there, it's almost a normal conversation. They talk about school, friends – though Kurt is careful not to mention Chandler, and he definitely notices that Sebastian doesn't come up – and Blaine's trip home for Easter the following weekend. _Almost_ normal because something still feels off. He can't quite place it, but there's something Blaine isn't telling him. Something is wrong. Blaine just keeps insisting everything is fine, and eventually Kurt accepts it, because he doesn't want to start another fight, but he can't shake the feeling that something is still wrong. And it's his fault.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Without further ado, the moment I'm sure you've all been anticipating has arrived. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy the chapter <3

Kurt puts a final stroke of blue on his last Easter egg, then sets it to the side to dry with the five he'd painted earlier. He smiles across the kitchen table at Blaine, whose tongue is sticking out just the slightest bit as he concentrates on painting some of the finer details on an egg of his own.

"Are you almost done?"

"Just about," Blaine replies, not taking his eyes off his work.

Blaine has been home since Thursday night, and now it's Sunday, and he flies back tomorrow, and they're alone in the house and Blaine has barely touched him all weekend. He's a teenage boy, he has needs. So sue him if he's impatient.

"Carole said they wouldn't be back until at least midnight."

"Mhmm," Blaine hums absentmindedly as he adds a final stroke of pink and then finally, of god, _finally_ , puts it off to the side to dry. "There, done."

"Great. To my room?" Kurt asks, hopping out of his chair and beginning to walk off toward the hallway, looking over his shoulder at Blaine with a smirk.

Blaine stands, but doesn't follow him. "I was thinking maybe we could just watch a movie, actually."

Kurt stops, turns, frowns at Blaine. "Blaine. You know there's no one else home, right?

"Yeah, I know. I just thought it would be nice to cuddle up with a good movie. Maybe make some popcorn."

Kurt's frown deepens. Blaine has been weird since their fight a couple weeks ago. Every time he asks, Blaine insists things are fine, but now Blaine will barely even kiss him, and his boyfriend flies back to New York tomorrow, and every part of Kurt's being is screaming at him, telling him that something is wrong here. "Blaine," Kurt says slowly, walking back toward Blaine and taking his hands, "what's going on?"

"Nothing," Blaine says, "I just feel like a movie. We can watch Moulin Rouge."

Kurt sighs. "Come here," he says, tugging Blaine into the living room and sitting them both down on the couch. "Something is wrong. I can tell. It's been wrong since that fight. Are you still mad at me? Because if you are, I understand, but we can't fix it if you don't talk to-"

"I was with Sebastian."

Kurt feels the air whooshing out of his lungs, like he just took a blow to the chest. "What?"

"That night, after I hung up on you, I... I went over to Sebastian's. I just, I was so mad, and I thought you were replacing me, and I..." Blaine trails off.

"You were... you... I don't understand." Blaine can't be saying what he thinks he's saying... right? There's no way. Blaine wouldn't. Blaine would never. They've had this conversation, so many times, and it's just not possible. Blaine couldn't do that to him, to _them_.

"I... Kurt, don't make me say it," Blaine pleads.

"Say _what_?" Kurt asks, because he's pretty sure he knows, but he doesn't _want_ to know, wracks his brain for something, anything that could explain away the obvious implication hanging in the air between them.

"Please, Kurt, _please_. I swear, it didn't mean anything, and I felt so guilty as soon as I did it, I know I shouldn't have but I just thought you were here with Chandler, doing god knows what, and–"

"Blaine, stop," Kurt says, cutting him off, "what does Chandler have to do with any of this? 'Doing god knows what', really, Blaine? What did you think was happening? Because _nothing_ was happening!"

"I don't know, Kurt! I never know!"

"Okay, this is ridiculous, for the millionth time, nothing is happening, Blaine, but what did you _do_?"

Blaine says nothing for a moment before looking away, down at the ground, then, quietly, "I, um... I slept with him."

There's silence, deafening silence as Kurt processes the words, lets them sink into his skin and bones and now that the words have been said there's no denying them, no pretending that this isn't happening, that they're broken, that _Blaine_ broke them, and he thought it was him but this is so much worse, and of course it's Sebastian, of _course_ , and all he can think about is the other boy's hands on Blaine, his mouth on Blaine, his–

"Kurt, I'm so sorry. Please, say something." He's interrupted by Blaine's voice, high and desperate, and Blaine's hands gently gripping his arms, but he shrinks away from the touch, stands and takes a step backward.

"No, I can't, I um... I can't," he says, slowly backing up further.

Blaine stands and takes a few steps toward him.

"Kurt, _please_ , talk to me. I am so, _so_ sorry."

"No," Kurt says again, shaking his head, pressing at his eyes as though that would hold back the tears that are starting to fall. "I need– I have to be alone right now," he says, and then he turns and runs, slamming the door behind him as he enters his room and then collapsing on his bed, curling into a small ball in the center, not bothering with the blankets.

Blaine doesn't come after him. He's not sure whether he should be upset that his boyfriend doesn't give chase, or thankful that Blaine gives him the space he asked for. _Boyfriend_. Is that still what Blaine is to him?

Eventually though, after what feels like hours, there's a quiet knock on the door. Kurt drags himself off the bed, walks to the door, and opens it to see Blaine standing on the other side.

"Can I come in?"

Kurt just nods, stands to the side to let Blaine pass. Blaine walks into the room, makes his way over to the bed and takes a seat. Kurt follows and sits beside him, though he leaves some distance between them.

"Kurt, I am so sorry. You need to believe me."

"I know."

"What can I do to make it up to you? Please, anything."

Kurt is silent for a moment. He wracks his brain, trying to think of something, anything, that could make up for this, but he can't think of anything. "I don't know."

"Come on, Kurt. There must be something. Just tell me."

"No, Blaine, I... there's nothing."

" _Kurt_ ," Blaine sounds heartbroken; but so is Kurt. And Kurt didn't break them, Blaine did.

"I can't do this, Blaine."

"Please, Kurt, come on, love, there has to be _something_. Don't do this."

"I didn't do this, Blaine. You did." Kurt's voice is icy, and he's not sure how he's managing to be so calm on the outside when he feels like a hurricane on the inside. "We're done."

They stare at each other for a long time, Blaine's eyes pleading with Kurt to reconsider, but Kurt holds firm; he'd feel strong for it if he didn't feel so broken. Eventually, Blaine seems to accept it, silently leaving the room and pulling the door closed gently behind him.

Kurt curls up in the center of his bed again, and finally lets the tears fall as he cries himself to sleep.

* * *

"Alright Kurt, talk," Burt says, taking the seat across from Kurt at the kitchen table.

Kurt doesn't want to talk about it. Kurt wants to stay in his room, curled with his knees to his chest on his bed, for the rest of his life. But Burt just got home from dropping Blaine off at the airport, and he has questions, of course he has questions, Kurt has barely spoken a word to anyone since last night, didn't come to the airport to drop off his boyfriend – wait, no, _ex_ boyfriend, oh god, it really happened – there's no way Burt is letting this go without an explanation.

"We broke up," Kurt says, barely a whisper, as he stares down at the table in front of him, unable to meet his father's eye.

"Yeah, I got that," Burt says gruffly, "what happened? You two seemed good."

"He, um... It's nothing, dad."

"You were head over heels for that boy, kid, don't try to tell me it's nothing. I'm stupid, Kurt." His father's voice is stern, but not unkind.

Kurt sighs, fidgets with his hands. "We just, um... the distance. It was hard."

"You expect me to believe you broke up because of the distance? When you're a few months away from moving to New York?" Burt raises an eyebrow at him.

He doesn't know how to tell his dad this. The girls, sure, it's something he'd talked to them about before, being worried that it could happen. But his _dad_? His dad loves Blaine. And his dad loves him, too, of course he does, but what will he think? Will he wonder what Kurt did that made Blaine cheat on him? Will he tell Kurt that he should have been more understanding, tried harder? That he shouldn't have let it get to this point? It's not so much that he wants to keep it a secret from his father, he just doesn't want to _disappoint_ him because this is already bad but that would just make things so much worse, because Blaine _lived with them_ and Kurt's family loved – no, _loves_ – Blaine, and Kurt hadn't even thought of that but they're really all Blaine has, aren't they? Kurt can't turn his whole family against Blaine. As hurt as he is, he still _loves_ Blaine, as much as he wishes he didn't, but he can't do that to Blaine.

"What did he tell you?" Kurt asks, chancing a look up at his father.

"That I should talk to you," Burt says flatly.

"It just... wasn't working," Kurt says with a small shrug. "I don't want to talk about it."

Burt sighs. "Okay. You can though, you know. If you need to."

"I know."

* * *

"I just don't understand what I did wrong," Kurt says with a sigh. "I mean, I know there were things I could have done better, but..."

"I'm so sorry, Kurt," Tina says, reaching over and wrapping him in a hug.

"I don't want to say I told you so, but I did say that you should be careful about–" Rachel starts, but Mercedes cuts her off.

"Rachel Berry, if you say one more word, so help me god I will kick you out of this house."

"What? You can't kick me out of my own house!"

"Watch me," Mercedes counters with a glare, and that seems to succeed at shutting Rachel up.

"Don't listen to her, boo. Clearly he didn't appreciate all your amazing, so he doesn't deserve it."

"I just can't stop thinking about what I could have done differently," Kurt says sadly.

"Well, maybe if–"

" _Rachel_ ," Mercedes and Tina interrupt at the same time.

"Fine, fine," Rachel mumbles, but she stays quiet.

"Kurt, the boy is pretty dumb if he was willing to cheat on you. He's not worth it."

"Yeah, I know, it's just... I still love him." He feels pathetic admitting it, because after what Blaine did, he shouldn't still love him, should he? But he does, and he just feels weak for it.

"Of course you do," Tina says, squeezing her arms around him, "you were together for like, what, a year? That's a long time. Feelings don't just go away overnight."

"I wish they did," he replies with a sad smirk.

"What you need is cheesecake," Mercedes says knowingly, "and luckily for you, I know just the place. Come on."

Mercedes moves to stand, then grabs Kurt's arms and pulls him to his feet.

"Cheesecake does sound nice," he says as the group of them make their way out to Tina's car.

"You can have an entire cheesecake if you want it," Mercedes says, giving him a gentle pat on the shoulder.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, really short chapter today, but it's also kind of depressing, so maybe that's for the best. Enjoy <3

Kurt, Rachel, and Chandler sit around a table at the Lima Bean, each with an envelope in hand – their NYADA letters. Kurt had promised both of them he wouldn't open his letter without them, so here they are.

"I can't do it," Rachel says, staring down at the letter in her hands.

"Me neither," Kurt agrees. He felt so good about his audition, and Madame Tibideaux had given him great feedback, but he was still terrified that he wouldn't get in.

"I'll go first," Chandler decides, sliding a finger inside his own envelope and ripping it open. He pulls out the letter, unfolds it carefully, and Kurt and Rachel stare at him in silence as he reads it over.

"I didn't get in," Chandler says simply.

"Chandler, I'm so sorry! Your audition was amazing," Rachel says sympathetically, reaching a hand out and placing it on top of Chandler's.

"Thanks. It's okay, though. I already got into California-Irvine, so I'll probably go there anyway."

"Okay, my turn," Rachel says, taking in a steadying breath as she carefully rips open her own letter. Kurt reaches out and grips Chandler's hand, squeezing as they watch Rachel read her letter. Slowly, a smile spreads across her face, and then she places the letter down on the table. "I got in."

"You got in?" Kurt repeats.

"I got in," she says again, smiling wider, "I got in!"

A few of the nearby patrons shoot the group dirty looks, but none of them can be bothered to care.

"Oh my god, Rach, congratulations! You got in!" Kurt exclaims, reaching out and grasping her hand with his free hand.

"Congratulations! That's amazing!" Chandler adds, unfazed by his own rejection.

"Kurt, open yours," Rachel urges, letting go of his hand and pushing his letter closer.

"Right, okay," he says, pulling his other hand back from Chandler and picking up the letter. He's shaking a little, but he manages to rip the envelope open, and then he's sliding the letter out, unfolding the paper, reading it and... oh. He didn't get in. He stares at the paper, reading it over and over, willing the words to change but they never do.

"Well? What does it say?" Rachel urges.

"I... didn't get in."

"Oh, Kurt, I'm so sorry. I know NYADA was your top pick," Chandler says empathetically, resting a hand on Kurt's arm.

"What? No way, let me see," Rachel says, snatching the paper from his hands and reading it herself. "But your audition was so good! How did you not get in?"

"I don't know."

There's silence for a moment, before Rachel speaks again.

"Well, there's still NYU, right? I'm sure you'll get in there. NYADA is just very competitive, only the best of the best can get in, but NYU isn't as hard so maybe that will be a better fit for you anyway."

She continues rambling on, but Kurt doesn't really hear any of the words she's saying. He's sure they're all meaningless platitudes about how everything happens for a reason or something as equally clichéd. He doesn't need Rachel's reassurances that he did a great job, or that he should have gotten in, or that he'll do great at NYU, because he already knows the truth, and that's that he's a failure. He failed with Blaine, and now he's failed with this. And nothing that Rachel or Chandler say will be able to change that.

* * *

Fuck Mother's day.

He doesn't mean it, not really. Logically, he knows it's a good day, and if his mother was still alive, he would never even think it. But as it is, she isn't, so Mother's day is the worst.

"She would be proud of you, you know," Burt says from the driver seat on their way back from the graveyard.

Kurt scoffs. "I'm not so sure about that."

"Kurt." His father's voice is firm, but not unkind. "You know I'm not very good at this kind of thing. This was always your mother's thing. I know you've had a rough go of it lately. And not even just lately, but, your whole life."

Well, that's a bit of an understatement. He'd laugh if it weren't so depressing.

"You have gotten through so much, Kurt," his father continues on, a little awkward, but not letting it stop him. It's one of the things he's always admired about his father; he doesn't shy away from the hard stuff. Sure, it's a pain in the ass at times, but it's always for the best. "You grew up gay, in the middle of Ohio, without your mom. And I tried, god knows I tried, Kurt, but there was only ever so much I could do for you."

Kurt can hear the emotion in his father's voice, and Burt isn't usually emotional like this, so it catches him off guard a little.

Burt continues. "I couldn't protect you from everything. And I still can't. But Kurt, you are so strong. You are one of the strongest people I know. And I am so, _so_ proud, to call you my son. And I know your mom would be if she were still here, too."

"Well, she's not." He doesn't mean for it to come out as harsh as it does, but he can't help it. He wipes at a stray tear as it slides down his cheek, and turns to look out the window. He doesn't want to _talk_ about this.

"I know, buddy," Burt says simply, patting Kurt's thigh quickly before bringing his hand back to the steering wheel. They drive the rest of the way home in silence.


	19. Chapter 19

"Oh what about this one! It has a balcony," Rachel says excitedly, turning her laptop to show Kurt several images of a nice looking apartment in New York City.

"Rachel, that's _way_ too expensive for us," Kurt says, a little annoyed. She's been shooting down all of his suggestions for one reason or another, but everything she suggests costs far too much money for the two of them to afford, even with a bit of help from Rachel's dads.

"My dads will help pay for it," Rachel says, predictably.

"With rent that high, it's more like we'd be helping your dads pay for it," Kurt counters.

"So?" she asks, pulling the laptop back to her side of the table. "They won't mind."

" _I_ mind. I don't want to be living somewhere that your parents are paying for."

"Why not? If we pay for it ourselves we won't find somewhere nearly as nice."

"Maybe not, but at least it will be _ours_ ," Kurt insists.

"Fine, whatever," she grumbles, but she doesn't argue any more.

They sit in silence for a long while, each scrolling through apartment listings on their laptops.

"What about this one?" Kurt asks, spinning his laptop around and flipping through some photos of a modest 3-bedroom apartment. "There's a couple that rents one room already, so we would have roommates, but they'll still split the rent four ways so we'll get a good deal."

Rachel pulls the laptop closer and flips through some of the photos herself. Her brow furrows.

"I don't know, Kurt. I'm not sure how I feel about sharing an apartment with someone we don't know."

"Well we're going to have to compromise on something. I don't love the idea either, but we're not going to able to afford an apartment with everything else you want by ourselves."

She stares at the screen a while longer, contemplating, before finally, "Fine, but I want the bigger bedroom."

"Deal," Kurt agrees. The smaller bedroom has a larger closet anyway.

* * *

Kurt makes his way around the room, collecting the paper plates strewn about the Hummel-Hudson living room. The last of his and Finn's friends have just trickled out from their grad party, and he doesn't want to go to bed with the house still looking like a disaster. He piles another plate precariously on top of the pile he's carrying.

"Kurt, really, you can leave all that," Carole says, walking into the room and giving him a small smile.

"I just don't want to have to deal with it in the morning," Kurt replies, not stopping to look at her as he adds another plate to the pile.

"Kurt, honey, it was _your_ party, you don't need to clean up. We'll take care of it." She makes her way over to him and takes the stack of plates from his arms. "Go to bed."

"Fine," he says with a sigh, "thanks, Carole."

"Goodnight, sweetie," she says, planting a gentle kiss on his cheek.

He makes his way to his room, strips down to his underwear then slips into his pajamas. He turns back the blankets on his perfectly made bed, slides under them, and sits up against his head board, head propped back, and stares at the ceiling. He didn't really care all that much about getting the cleaning done; he knows whatever he didn't do, Carole would take care of before he was up the next morning. He just doesn't want to be alone with his thoughts right now. The party had been great, he loved being around his friends, and they almost made him forget about all of the shit going on in his life that he, well, wanted to forget about. But in their absence, everything is just clearer, harder. He'd have Rachel in New York, but that was it. He should have had Blaine; he was always supposed to have Blaine in New York. But that was ruined and broken and it hurts his heart to think about it. He pulls his knees up to his chin, hugging them and rocking slightly on the bed. Why is this so _hard_? He's still going to New York. He didn't get into NYADA, but he _did_ get into Parsons, and maybe it's for the best that he won't have to see Blaine everywhere at school but, god, for as much as he should just be over this by now he is still so _not_ over it.

It's like he can't breathe, the weight of rejection after rejection is suffocating and all he wants to do is talk to _him_. He grabs his phone from the bedside table, unlocks it and scrolls to Blaine's contact, hovering over the call button. But he can't. He can't call Blaine anymore, Blaine isn't his. He talked to Blaine once, on the phone the week after they'd broken up, and Kurt stayed firm that he was done. Blaine tried after that, for a while, to convince Kurt to take him back, but Kurt ignored every call and text. So he couldn't call Blaine now. Instead he scrolls a bit further, to Chandler's name, and hits the call button.

A couple rings later, and Chandler's sleepy voice is on the other side of the line. "Kurt, hi."

Shit. Of course he was already in bed asleep.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't- I'll hang up, you can go back to sleep."

"No, that's- is everything okay?" Chandler sounds a little more alert now, concerned.

"Yeah, it um... it's fine," he says, but he know he doesn't sound sincere. And Chandler notices.

"What's wrong, Kurt?"

Kurt sighs. Chandler _has_ always been good to talk to. Maybe this will help. "Just... everything."

He can practically hear the confused frown in Chandler's voice. "What do you mean by everything?"

"First Blaine, and then NYADA, and I just feel like... like a failure. Like nobody wants me." Normally he's not able to be this open, this vulnerable with someone. But this is _Chandler_ , and there's just something about the darkness that the night brings that makes it easier to say the things you can't bring yourself to say in the light of day. "I always thought that once I could just get out of here, this stupid _place_ , that things would be okay, but I just... don't feel like that anymore. It's stupid."

"It's not stupid," Chandler insists. "You're not a failure. I can't believe you would ever think that. Not that you're stupid for thinking that, I just mean that, like, Kurt, you're so great. You are one of the kindest and bravest and most talented people I know, just, the fact that you could even _think_ that nobody would want you, the idea is just so... ridiculous. Have you seen yourself, Kurt? Like, do you even see who you are?"

"That's nice of you to say, Chandler, but reality seems to contradict you."

"Kurt... can I be honest with you?"

"Yeah," Kurt says, straightening up a little. Chandler isn't usually asking to be honest, so this can't be good.

"Don't take this the wrong way, please don't, because I don't mean it in a bad way, at all, it's nothing to do with you, so I really don't-"

"Chandler," Kurt interrupts softly, "just say it."

"Okay." Kurt hears a deep inhale on the other end of the line before Chandler continues. "I think you're taking NYADA too seriously. Just because they didn't accept you doesn't mean you're not incredibly talented. They're just, like, really picky, and that's why I applied to so many places. Not getting in doesn't mean you're bad. And besides, you got into Parsons, and I really think that you would like that better anyway. Fashion is your _thing_ Kurt, and I know you think performing is too, and you are amazing at it, but... I don't think it's you."

A heavy silence hangs in the air between them. This is new. Chandler was the one to suggest fashion and Parsons, sure, but he'd never come out and said that Kurt shouldn't be a performer. Never even implied it, really. He's not sure what to make of it.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I just think that... oh my gosh, I can't believe I'm going to say this, but um... are you sure you don't mind?"

"Mind what, Chandler?"

"I just... I don't want... Never mind," he says anxiously.

"No, just... tell me. It's fine."

Chandler is silent for a few moments, the only sound Kurt can hear is their breathing, until finally he speaks again. "I um... You're really great, Kurt, honestly, but it's just that... Performing always seemed like Blaine's thing. Or Rachel's. Or Mercedes, even, maybe not musical theatre for her, but music for sure. And you are good, _so good_ at it, too, but it just never seemed like... you."

"Of course it's me," Kurt argues defensively, because _where_ is this coming from? Everything he is, everything he has built himself around since he started high school, since he joined the Glee club, has been performing. Without that, who is he?

Chandler takes in another deep breath. "I just think that maybe, you know, you think that's what you want because everyone around you wants that, and you want to fit in with them. And I mean, Blaine and Rachel are both really kind of pushy, no offense, and I think that maybe it was just... easier?"

"I don't want to be a performer because it's _easy_ , if that's what you're saying," he says, narrowing his eyes reflexively despite Chandler being several miles away.

"No, no, of course not!" Chandler sputters out quickly. "Gosh, I'm sorry, I'm so bad at this. That's not what I mean. Um, of course not, it's hard, you put a lot of work in and I think that's really really admirable, and you could totally be a performer, I don't mean you couldn't. You would be so great! But it's just that I think maybe because you're always surrounded by people who want to be performers that it seems like that's the right thing? Like that's what you should do? But you don't have to do that if you don't want, you know? Like you could do fashion and you'd be amazing at it, and I remember you telling me about doing fashion shows with your mom's clothes as a kid and just, from everything you've told me it just seems like music and performing is so much newer but clothes and fashion have always been there, you know? Does that make any sense? Gosh, I'm sorry, I'm just... I'll shut up."

Kurt takes a moment to process the things Chandler is saying. He does love performing, but is Chandler right? Is it really _him_ , or does he just _think_ it's him? Does he even know himself? And Chandler is right, fashion has always been there, and even now it's still there, still just as important to him as ever. One of his top priorities for his NYADA audition was the gold lamé pants, for god's sake. When he really thinks about it, he could see himself doing fashion in the future. Forever. He could imagine himself in an office with a notebook, sketching out new designs. And the thought makes him _happy_. When he'd thought of performing, he always thought of himself as being happy, but he also thought of himself as being happy _with Blaine_ or _with Rachel_ , not just with himself. But with fashion, he can... sort of see that. And it's like a switch has been flipped.

"How long have you thought this?"

"Um... a while?" Chandler sound apologetic. "I just didn't want to... well, you know..."

Kurt's brow furrows. "Didn't want to what?"

Chandler is quiet for a moment before he's speaking again, quickly, as though he needs to rush to get all the words out before he changes his mind. "Well it's just that, you had it in your head that you were going to NYADA with Blaine and you were going to be happy there together with him and I knew that if I said something to you about it then you would argue with me and you'd tell Blaine and Blaine would hate me more and he already didn't like me and honestly I didn't really like him that much either, I mean he was okay but he was a jerk to me and he was kind of a jerk to you, too, Kurt, but of course I would never say that to you except now I'm saying it to you and oh gosh what am I doing."

Kurt's head thumps back against the headboard and he stares back up at the ceiling. That is... a lot to take in. Chandler has never said a word about not liking Blaine; if anything, Chandler was the most supportive of their relationship of all his friends. Nothing is making sense.

"You didn't... I don't understand. You never said anything before."

"Well of course I didn't, I mean, you're my friend, Kurt, and I wanted you to be able to talk to me, and I knew that if I said that you wouldn't feel like you could talk to me anymore, and I felt like you needed someone to talk to, you know? And I mean it's not like you would have listened to me anyway if I said something, you're very stubborn so you probably would have just gotten mad at me and left and then not talked to me about it anymore and I just like talking to you."

Kurt actually laughs. "Yeah, you're probably right. I just... I wasn't expecting this, I guess."

"Are you mad at me?"

"No, of course not," Kurt reassures him, "it's just... a lot to think about."

There's a silence between them again, but this time it's not heavy or awkward, it's comfortable.

"I think I might try to get some sleep," Kurt says quietly.

"Right, yeah of course, it's late, that's a good idea."

"Thank you. For talking to me tonight."

"Of course! You can call me any time. That's what friends are for, right?" Chandler asks, some of the cheer back in his voice.

"Yeah. That's what friends are for," Kurt agrees.


	20. Chapter 20

Kurt and Chandler are settled on the couch in Kurt's living room watching RuPaul's Drag Race. It's something he never really did with Blaine, Blaine was never a big fan of reality television, but Chandler eats it right up with him.

 _Blaine_. He still feels a pang in his heart every time he thinks about his ex boyfriend, but it's not as sharp as it was at first. The pain has dulled a little bit, with time. He's not sure if it will ever go away, but it's a little more bearable now.

"No _way_ , I can't believe she _did_ that!" Chandler squeals, grabbing Kurt's hand and squeezing tightly, pointing to the screen where one of the queens just slapped the other.

And it's nice. It feels _good_ , the contact, a warm hand in his. He looks over at Chandler, the other boy's eyes glued to the screen, his face pure excitement, and he realizes with Chandler everything just feels so _easy_. There's no over thinking things, he doesn't need to be worried about saying something he'll regret, or that Chandler will get mad at him for. Chandler just accepts him for him, all of his imperfect and broken pieces. It hits him like a freight train, how _good_ Chandler is. He's never once made him feel bad about himself, or like being different was a bad thing, or like he couldn't be _him_. Chandler was always there, a constant ray of light, a beacon of hope ever since they met, really, and Kurt really never appreciated that enough, did he? It's not love, not like how he feels about Blaine – felt, he tries to tell himself, though deep down he knows he still has those feelings – but maybe not everything is. Maybe it's not supposed to be. Love is messy and painful and if being in love ends the way he and Blaine ended every time, then maybe he doesn't want that. But being with Chandler, that would be so easy, wouldn't it? And maybe that's what he needs, because he's tried complicated, and look where that got him.

"Kurt?" Chandler asks, turning to look back at him, a confused expression on his face. Clearly he'd been saying something.

"Sorry, what?" Kurt asks, shaking his head.

"I said, who do you think they'll eliminate this round?"

"Oh," Kurt says, pausing to think for a moment, then realizes he hasn't been paying attention for the last little while so he actually has no idea who will be kicked off the show. "I'm not sure."

"Is everything okay?" Chandler asks, furrowing his brow slightly.

Kurt stares back for a moment. This other boy knows him so well, knows every time something is wrong, knows just what to do to cheer him up, the right words to say. And really, isn't that what he should want in a partner? It makes sense, logically, and maybe he's just still hung up on Blaine and that's why he doesn't _feel_ it but, do you really need to feel it if you're still choosing it?

Enough thinking. He thinks too much, and it's gotten him nowhere, so screw thinking. He reaches a hand up to Chandler's neck and pulls him forward gently, leaning in and pressing their lips together in a sweet, gentle kiss. He feels Chandler freeze for a second before relaxing into the kiss, and then he pulls back.

Chandler's eyes stay closed for a few moments, before fluttering open and staring back at Kurt, a look of surprise on his face.

Kurt panics. What did he just do? Why would he do that? What made him think that Chandler would even _want_ this? Of course he doesn't, who would? For a while, he really thought Blaine did, but clearly he was wrong about that, too.

"Chandler, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-"

"No, it... it's okay," Chandler says, and Kurt spots a bit of a blush in his cheeks. "I just, um... wasn't expecting it."

"Oh," Kurt says quietly.

They sit there in silence for a few long minutes before Chandler breaks the silence.

"Are you, um... I mean, what are... why?"

It's not often that Chandler is at a loss for words, and the fact that Kurt has made him that way is sort of cute. Not in the same way that Blaine at a loss of words was, but still endearing.

"I just... you've always been there for me. And I think I kind of just realized that now, and I just... wanted to kiss you." He's surprised how easy the words are to say. With Blaine he had always been a nervous, blushing mess, but he doesn't feel that same pressure with Chandler, doesn't feel the intensity of emotion that he felt with Blaine, and it's nice.

Chandler's cheeks flush a deeper shade of red, but he's smiling. "Would you... want to kiss me again?"

"Yeah," Kurt nods, and then brings their lips together again.

* * *

Chandler sits in the booth across from Kurt at Breadstix. Kurt had been expecting it to feel different, their first official date, but it doesn't. It just feels like he's sitting here with a friend. He'd been expecting to feel something _more_ , but he just... doesn't. It's not like with Blaine. But maybe nothing ever will be. They always say that first loves are special, right? He just needs to lower his expectations.

"I can't believe we're really doing this," Chandler says excitedly as the waitress leaves their table, menus in hand, to give their orders to the kitchen. Kurt smiles warmly back at the other boy. "Can I tell you something?"

"Yeah, of course," Kurt says, brow furrowed. He's not really sure what Chandler would have to say that would need to be prefaced with that; the boy rarely hesitates to say what's on his mind.

"I never thought this would happen, "Chandler starts, a shy smile on his face. "I mean, the first time I saw you, I thought, 'wow, he is beautiful.' And then I talked to you, and you seemed even better. And then you said you had a boyfriend and I mean, I still wanted to be your friend, of course, who wouldn't, but I just thought that was it, you know? You had a boyfriend so I would never have a chance. And I guess I'm just... glad that I do now."

"I'm glad, too," Kurt agrees, though the words feel empty somehow; he's not sure why. He wants this. This was his idea.

"Oh, we should go on a picnic sometime. There's this park my parents used to take me to all the time as a kid, it was so pretty, I haven't been there in a long time but we should go! It would be so romantic! We can make little sandwiches and lay out a blanket and, oh, it's on a lake so we could go _swimming_!"

"That sounds really nice," Kurt agrees with a nod and a small smile, and it does sound really nice. It sounds like a wonderful afternoon and if it weren't for the memories of romantic picnics with Blaine last summer it might sound perfect, but he shouldn't be thinking about Blaine now, this shouldn't be a _thing_ anymore, so he tries to push the thoughts out of his mind. Maybe if he replaces the memories with new ones with Chandler, maybe then his heart won't ache so much.

Supper is easy, like spending time with Chandler always is. He doesn't have to try. He spends the evening listening to Chandler talk, nodding and interjecting at just the right moments, and it's nice. Time with Chandler is always _nice_.

When he goes home that night and lays in bed, trying to sleep, he tries to convince himself that nice is enough.


	21. Chapter 21

"So how are you and the new boyfriend doing?" Mercedes asks, linking her arm with Kurt's as they walk through the mall.

"He's not my boyfriend."

"Oh come on, Kurt," she says, rolling her eyes, "we've done this before."

"No, really, he's not," Kurt argues, "we talked about it. We're taking it slow."

"You talked about it or _you_ told _him_?" she asks skeptically, raising an eyebrow at him.

"It's not like that, Cedes, I- he said he was fine with that."

Mercedes sighs, drags him to a bench off to the side and sits him down. "Kurt, are you leading this boy on?"

"What? No," he says defensively, automatically.

"Do you like him?"

Kurt rolls his eyes. "Of course I like him, would I have been friends with him this long if I didn't?"

"Kurt," she says, and she's giving him _that look_ , "you know what I mean."

Now it's Kurt's turn to sigh. "I don't know, I... I _want_ to like him. And I like spending time with him, he's really great, but I just..."

"Blaine?" Her tone isn't accusatory, just sympathetic, sad.

"... Yeah."

"You can't just lead him on if you're not into him, Kurt," she says gently, placing a comforting hand on his arm.

"I'm not," he says, shaking his head. "It's not... that's not what this is. I'm just trying to be careful."

"Kurt, Chandler is a sweet guy. He deserves more than being your rebound."

Kurt stands, turns and looks at Mercedes. "I heard there's a sale at that shoe store you really like. We should go there."

" _Kurt_."

"This conversation is over. Are you coming to the shoe store?"

"Fine," she says, getting up and following as he starts down the hallway, "but this is _not_ over."

He doesn't respond. He's not having this conversation right now. Just because it's not the same, just because he's not ready for Chandler to be his boyfriend, doesn't mean he's leading the other boy on. People take things slow all the time, right? But maybe that's the problem. Maybe it's too slow, maybe that's what's holding him back. He's just scared, but this is _Chandler_ , there's nothing to be scared of. He just needs to let the other boy in.

* * *

Kurt and Chandler are curled up on Chandler's bed together watching Hairspray, Chandler's arm wrapped around Kurt's shoulders and Kurt's head resting on Chandler's chest. It's comfortable and warm and peaceful. But he keeps thinking about his conversation with Mercedes, about leading Chandler on, about what this _thing_ between them is. And Chandler isn't pushing for anything more, because he's a nice guy, but he must want it... right? Blaine did. That's just what guys are like, isn't it? Even Karofsky, though not at all in the same category, just wanted... well, _those things_ from him. Chandler was just too nice to ask, and maybe Mercedes was right, that wasn't really fair to him. Kurt tilts his head up and looks at Chandler, eyes focused on the movie. He shifts slightly in Chandler's arms, and when Chandler glances down with a small smile, Kurt brings their lips together. Chandler squeaks a little in surprise, but quickly melts into the kiss.

Kurt deepens the kiss, nips lightly at Chandler's lips making the other boy whimper as they part their lips and swirl their tongues together. Not breaking the kiss, Kurt shifts further, turning his body and rolling over Chandler, holding himself just above the other boy lying on the bed. Hovering above Chandler, he pulls back slightly, then brings his lips down to Chandler's neck, sucking and biting at the smooth skin just below his ear, and he feels a shiver course through the boy beneath him coupled with a breathy gasp. He rolls his hips down into the other boy's, groaning at the contact and hearing Chandler's moan in parallel.

But then Chandler is pushing up at his shoulders. "Wait, stop."

Kurt stops instantly. He pulls back, stares down at Chandler, wide eyed. "What? Did I do something wrong?"

"I just, I'm not..." Chandler starts, but then trails off as he moves to sit up. Kurt climbs off him and kneels further down the bed, looking at Chandler expectantly, because it certainly didn't _sound_ like he did anything wrong, so he's not really sure what the problem is.

"I'm sorry if I hurt you, I didn't mean-" he starts to apologize, but Chandler cuts him off.

"No, you didn't hurt me, I'm just not... I don't know if I'm ready to... you know, do that." Chandler is blushing a deep shade of red.

"Oh," Kurt says dumbly, "I just thought that you..."

"Thought that I what?" Chandler asks, furrowing his brow.

"I just, um... I thought you would... want to. Do more. Um, I just didn't want you to think that I... didn't... want to."

Chandler's eyes soften a little at that. "Did you think I... I'm not upset that we haven't done... much. Did I do something to make you think that?"

"No, it's just, Blaine... he was always ready before I was, and it just...," he trails off, not really sure where he's going with this.

"Kurt, we... you won't even let me be your boyfriend yet. I don't think we're ready for... well, much of anything, I guess."

"Well, maybe we should be. Boyfriends, I mean," Kurt says awkwardly.

Chandler frowns. "Do you just... are you just saying that because you want to do more?"

Kurt's eyes widen. "What? No! Of course not, that's not it at all, I don't even want..."

Chandler huffs a little, repositioning himself and leaning forward to look at Kurt. "Don't want what?"

Kurt looks off to the side, not able to bring himself to look Chandler in the eye. "I don't know what I want."

Chandler sighs, then leans back against the wall. "Is it Blaine?"

Kurt doesn't respond, just stares silently at the suddenly very interesting scuff on the wall, because this is _not_ how this was supposed to go.

"Kurt," Chandler starts, voice serious, but also sad, and the tone sort of breaks Kurt's heart, "I really like you. Like, I _really_ like you. But if you're not... If you don't feel the same way, if this is just about Blaine, then um... then I can't do this. Okay? So you need to tell me if you want this. Because if you do, I am all in, but if you don't, then I just... I can't."

They're silent for a long time, Chandler waiting patiently for Kurt to speak. Kurt has spent so much time thinking about himself; how this would help _him_ move on from Blaine, how it would be good for _him_ , how Chandler made _him_ feel, and he'd never really stopped to think about how Chandler felt about any of this, and god, what an asshole he's been. And Mercedes had tried to tell him, but he just didn't want to hear it, didn't want to _think_ about it, so he'd pushed her away and brushed it aside and just jumped in even further. Chandler is great, but it isn't the same, he's not _Blaine_ , and as much as he hates to admit it, as much as it _kills_ him, he's not over Blaine. And that's not fair to Chandler.

"I'm sorry." It's a whisper, but he's sure Chandler hears.

Chandler sighs again. "It's okay. I understand. I think... I kind of knew. I just... was hoping it wasn't, you know?"

"Yeah," Kurt breathes.

They sit there together in silence a while longer before Kurt speaks again. "Maybe I should go."

"Yeah," Chandler agrees quietly.

Kurt stands, collects his things in silence. He shoots Chandler a brief glance before he leaves, gives him a slight nod, and then he's gone, driving home by himself, alone, and this is just one more thing that he can't get right.


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're ending this story short and sweet. Thanks for reading, and especially thank to those of you who have left me comments, I've loved reading your thoughts on this story. <3

Kurt is going through his closet, slowly and carefully dividing his clothes into piles for taking to New York or leaving in Lima. He and Rachel have a decent apartment lined up, but there won't be nearly enough room for all of his clothes and accessories, so he needs to prioritize. He'll take all of his staples, things he can mix and match with other pieces in his wardrobe so he can change up his outfits. He'll take some of his nicer designer pieces as well; he's going to fashion school, after all, so he needs to look the part. He's adding a pair of red leather pants to the New York pile when his father knocks on the open door.

"Hey dad," he says, taking a glance at his father before going back to his closet.

"Hey buddy," Burt says, entering the room and coming to stand behind Kurt, "how're you getting along?"

"Alright. Do you think I could convince Rachel to let me use her closet too? Most of her clothes are awful anyway, she doesn't need to bring them all."

His dad chuckles, then takes a seat at the edge of the bed. "I'm not sure she would go for that."

"Well, it's worth a shot, right?" Kurt asks, finally stepping away from the closet and turning to look at his dad with a rueful smile.

"Never hurts to try," Burt agrees with a gentle smile. "So, you're really going to New York, huh?"

"Yeah, I really am," Kurt replies, and he can't help the small smile that spreads across his face. For all the shit he's been through in the past several months, he has to admit that is still looking forward to getting out of this place. A fresh start.

"Have you talked to Chandler about it?"

"Oh, we um... that's not really a thing anymore," Kurt admits awkwardly. His dad knew there was something going on between the two boys, but Kurt had been pretty stingy with the details, especially given he himself wasn't quite sure what was going on.

"Oh."

"It's fine though, I think. It was for the best."

"Okay. Well, that's good, then."

Kurt nods, then goes back to his closet, this time crouching down to start sorting through his shoes. He hears his father stand behind him, then start walking around the room.

"It's gonna be weird, not havin' you here," Burt muses as he paces around the perimeter of the room.

"It will be weird not being here."

They're silent for a while, Burt wandering around the room as Kurt finishes sorting through his shoes. When he's done he stands, walks over to stand next to his father.

"I always loved this one," Burt says, picking up a framed photo of Burt, Kurt, Carole, and Finn from the wedding.

"Me, too," Kurt agrees, "I'm taking that one with me."

"Come here," Burt says, but he doesn't wait, just pulls Kurt into a bear hug, giving him a tight squeeze. Kurt wraps his arms around his father and squeezes back; his dad really does give the best hugs.

"I'm gonna miss you, Kurt."

"I'll miss you too, dad."

"You know, it was always just the two of us against the world. Sometimes I forget that you have to grow up and go out on your own, too." Burt's voice is thick with emotion.

"I'll be back to visit, dad," he says, trying to sound reassuring, but he can hear the emotion in his own voice, too.

"I know, buddy. I know."

"I love you, dad."

"I love you, too, buddy."

* * *

"Kurt!" Rachel squeals, running over and tackling him with a hug.

"Hey, Rach," he says, hugging her back warmly.

She pulls away and smoothes out her skirt. "Did you already check in?"

"Yeah," he says with a nod, "I have my tickets here, and I just dropped off my luggage."

"We're going to New York!" she squeals again, and Kurt just hopes she's not going to be this loud for the whole plane ride. "I can't believe we're going to be roommates in _New York_."

"Me neither," Kurt admits with a laugh.

"Well kids, you should probably get through security," Hiram Berry says as Rachel's dads approach them.

"You never know what kind of hold ups you can run into at the airport, better safe than sorry," LeRoy chimes in.

"They're right," Burt adds, clapping a hand down on Kurt's shoulder.

"You kids grow up so fast," LeRoy says, pulling Rachel into a big hug as she wraps her arms around him. Hiram joins in the Berry group hug, and Kurt turns to his father.

"I'm gonna miss you, buddy," Burt says, pulling Kurt into a tight hug, and Kurt squeezes back just a little harder than he usually would.

"I'll miss you too, dad."

"You be careful up there in New York, y'hear?"

"I will, dad. You don't have to worry about me," Kurt reassures.

"I know," Burt says simply, giving Kurt another tight squeeze before releasing him. "You're gonna love it up there."

"I hope so," Kurt says with a sad smile.

"Hey, none of that," his father scolds gently. "This will be good for you."

"I love you, dad."

"I love you too, Kurt. So much," Burt says, pulling his son into another bone crushing hug, and Kurt doesn't even care.

They stand there for a moment, and Kurt doesn't really _want_ to leave, just wants to stay here in his father's arms, comforting and safe and _home_ , but he knows he can't do that. Finally, they pull away, and he looks over to see Rachel giving each of her fathers a kiss on the cheek.

"Are you ready?" she asks, looking at him expectantly.

"Yeah," he says with a nod.

Rachel links her arm through Kurt's, and together they make their way toward the security gate. Kurt looks back over his shoulder to see his dad watching them walk away; he gives a small wave, and Burt waves back. They continue on, through security, to their gate, and finally onto the plane, Rachel babbling about all of the things they need to do in New York City.

Rachel is right. His dad is right. New York will be good for him. He can do this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well this is it, the end! I AM planning a sequel to this fic (overall this will be a 4-part series!) and I have already planned it and started writing it, but it's not yet complete. I still have a lot of work to do on it, and I'm on a bit of a hiatus for the month as I attempt to write 50k words of a different fic for NaNoWriMo. If Kurtbastian is up your alley, you can check out It Was Only A Kiss, which is the fic I'm working on this month. When I've finished writing that, I'll be coming back to finish The Hazards of Love 3, and I'll start posting when I've finished writing it.


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